The Indian Air Force (IAF) in a daring operation carried out by the C-130J aircraft on the night of April 27, 28, 2023, rescued 121 personnel from a small airstrip at Wadi Seidna, which is about 40 km North of Khartoum, Sudan.
The passengers included medical cases, including a pregnant lady, besides those who had no means to reach Port Sudan, the IAF said in a statement.
The convoy was led by the Indian Defence Attache who was in continuous touch with IAF authorities all along, till they reached the airstrip at Wadi Seidna
The airstrip in question had a degraded surface, with no navigational approach, aids or fuel, and most critical or landing lights (that are required to guide an aircraft landing at night).
The aircrew on approaching the airstrip, used their Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure that the runway was free from any obstructions and no inimical forces were in the vicinity. Having made sure of the same, the aircrew carried out a tactical approach on Night Vision Goggles, on a practically dark night.
Upon landing, the aircraft engines were kept running while eight IAF Garud Commandos secured the passengers and their luggage into the aircraft. As with the landing, the take-off from the unlit runway was also carried out using NVGs.
This approximately two-and-a-half-hour operation between Wadi Sayyidna and Jeddah will go down in the annals of IAF history for its sheer audacity and flawless execution – akin to that carried out in Kabul.
Meanwhile, under ‘Operation Kaveri’ on April 28, another Indian Air Force C-130J flight took off from conflict-torn Sudan with 135 passengers onboard for Jeddah.
“Another IAF C-130J flight takes off from Port Sudan with 135 passengers onboard. This is the 11th batch of stranded Indians heading to Jeddah,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Earlier in the morning, the IAF C-130J flight on April 28 evacuated the 10th batch of 135 Indian passengers from Port Sudan to Jeddah after the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to extend their ceasefire amid ongoing violence in the capital Khartoum and the western Darfur region.
“#OperationKaveri progresses further. 10th batch of evacuees with 135 passengers onboard IAF C-130J flight departs Port Sudan for Jeddah,” tweeted the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, informing about the evacuation.
This comes after the army said it would extend the ceasefire “for an additional 72 hours” following mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States in the final hours of the repeatedly broken three-day truce, due to end at midnight (22:00 GMT) on April 27.
The 12th batch of Indian Air Force C-130J flight with 135 stranded Indians has reached Jeddah from crisis-hit Sudan.
Till now, 2100 stranded Indians have arrived in Jeddah, under ‘Operation Kaveri’, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan informed.
“How’s the josh? #OperationKaveri 135 more Indian evacuees reached Jeddah by IAF C-130J. With this 12th batch, around 2100 Indians arrived in Jeddah in total. Our efforts will continue,” Muraleedharan tweeted.
Meanwhile, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that INS Sumedha, which is stationed at Port Sudan, had also left the crisis-hit country with 300 passengers onboard for Jeddah.
This is the 13th batch of INS Sumedha with evacuated Indians, heading to Jeddah.
Earlier, on April 28, the Indian Air Force C-130J evacuated the 10th and 11th batches of 135 passengers from Port Sudan to Jeddah after the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to extend their ceasefire amid ongoing violence in the capital Khartoum and the western Darfur region.
Earlier, the Sudanese army said it would extend the ceasefire “for an additional 72 hours” following mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States in the final hours of the repeatedly broken three-day truce, due to end at midnight (22:00 GMT) on April 27.
The RSF also said it approved the extended truce, adding that the proposal came from two diplomatic groupings that include the US, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Sudan has been on the boil as a result of the ongoing clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. There have been reports of violence and clashes even during the ongoing 72-hour ceasefire.
Clashes erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Committed to ensuring that no Indian national is left behind in Sudan, India has deployed its military planes and warships in the war-torn country.
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