“Operation Kaveri” is a rescue mission launched by the government to evacuate stranded Indian citizens from Sudan where the Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups are fighting.
New Delhi:
The first batch of 360 Indians from crisis-hit Sudan arrived in New Delhi Wednesday evening under “Operation Kaveri”.
Foreign Minister S Jaishakar has joyously announced the success of #OperationKaveri on Twitter as the first flight carrying 360 Indian Nationals safely returns home. The accompanying photos of their arrival in New Delhi put smiles on everyone’s faces!
Days after Mr. Jaishankar spoke to his Saudi Arabia counterpart, an evacuation was initiated. Following the move, PM Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the security situation in Sudan.
What is Operation Kaveri?
The government has launched “Operation Kaveri,” a mission to rescue stranded Indian citizens from Sudan, where the Sudanese Army and paramilitary units are battling each other.
On Monday, Sudan’s warring factions agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, facilitated by American and Saudi Arabian mediators. It comes at a time when many countries are evacuating their citizens from the turbulent region.
India has established a transit facility in Jeddah to evacuate its citizens from Sudan, transporting them to the coastal city in Saudi Arabia.
Also, Read Sudan conflict: why is there fighting
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan is in Jeddah to oversee the evacuation mission.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia announced the evacuation of 66 citizens from foreign countries, deemed as “brotherly and friendly”, including some Indian nationals from Sudan.
Since April, battles between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary have resulted in more than 4,000 injuries and at least 459 deaths according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The conflict has resulted in brutal violence and the loss of countless lives.
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The urban warfare lasting almost two weeks has caused a significant number of foreigners to flee; concurrently, the UN cautioned that a humanitarian crisis driven by waves of refugees could be in the making.
Foreign governments have frantically organized road convoys, aircraft, and ships to get thousands of their nationals out of Sudan, and citizens have fled overland to neighboring countries.