Under ‘Operation Kaveri’, 328 more Indians landed at the New Delhi International Airport from strife-torn Sudan on May 2 night. Nearly 3,000 stranded Indians have reached India till now.
“328 more passengers have landed in New Delhi. #OperationKaveri moving steadily forward as around 3000 have reached India now,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted. Committed to ensuring that no Indian national is left behind in Sudan, India started Operation Kaveri on April 24 and deployed its military planes and warships in the war-torn country.
“Narendra Modi hai toh mumkin hai. I love you Indian Government,” one of the evacuees said.
Meanwhile, another evacuee said that the Indian embassy of Sudan, Riyadh and the General Counsel from Jeddah have all coordinated to bring them back.
“I am very happy coming back to India. The situation in Sudan is very critical. Bombing and firing are going on in the entire country. I am thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for evacuating us under Operation Kaveri,” another evacuee said.
“Excellent effort was done by the Indian Government. It is the Governmnet which cares for the people, and responds to the people in their time of need,” Captain Sunil Chaddha said.
Meanwhile, the 20th batch of stranded Indians has departed from Sudan for Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah. “20th batch of evacuees departs from Port Sudan. IAF C-130J flight with 116 passengers is en route to Jeddah,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, earlier on May 2, another ‘Operation Kaveri’ flight carrying 231 Indian evacuees reached Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Tuesday from Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, Jaishankar said.
“Another #OperationKaveri flight lands in Ahmedabad. 231 more passengers have reached home safely,” the EAM tweeted. Under Operation Kaveri, the 10th flight carrying Indian nationals left Jeddah earlier on May 2.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Sudan has warned that the humanitarian crisis in the country is turning into a “full flown catastrophe” and that the risk of spillover into neighbouring countries was worrisome.
“It has been more than two weeks of devastating fighting in Sudan, a conflict that is turning Sudan’s humanitarian crisis into a full-blown catastrophe,” Abdou Dieng, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, told a briefing of member states via video link.
Fighting is underway in Khartoum as the UN warns that Sudan is at a humanitarian “breaking point”.
Rival military forces accuse each other of new violations of a ceasefire that they had just agreed to extend as their devastating conflict enters a third week.
Sudan continues to face bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces.
On April 30, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said that nearly 2300 evacuee Indians have reached the country.
