India’s “Operation Kaveri” has been underway to evacuate its citizens from Sudan amidst the violence and unrest that the country is experiencing. The Air Force recently rescued approximately 250 Indians who were trapped in conflict-torn Sudan, using two IAF C-130 J aircraft to evacuate more than 250 people from Port Sudan. On Wednesday, 135 additional Indians who had become stranded in Sudan were rescued. However, the Indians who fled Sudan’s violence had harrowing stories to tell.
According to one of the Indians evacuated from Sudan, “The fight was intense. We were struggling for food. The scenario continued for 2-3 days.” Due to fighting between the army and paramilitary forces, Sudan is experiencing violence, and even amid a 72-hour ceasefire, there are reports of violence.
Another Indian evacuated shared a similar experience, recounting that “The tent of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was fixated near our company. Early morning at around 9, the forces entered our company. We were looted. They kept us hostage for eight hours. They kept rifles at our chests and looted us. Our mobiles were stolen.” However, the Indian national praised the Indian Navy for treating them well and helping them get back home.
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced on Monday that “Operation Kaveri” is underway to evacuate its citizens from battle-torn Sudan. He also shared that approximately 500 Indians had reached Port Sudan as the fighting between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary groups intensified in the capital Khartoum.
The number of Indians evacuated from Sudan so far stands at around 530, according to official data. V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs, is in Jeddah to oversee the evacuation effort, and he has been sharing updates on social media.
In one tweet, Muraleedharan shared a video of him seeing off 360 Indians at Jeddah Airport on a flight bound for New Delhi. In the video, he can be heard telling the passengers that PM Modi has promised to bring back every Indian. The passengers on board praised Modi ji, expressing their gratitude for the evacuation efforts.
The violence erupted in Sudan due to a power struggle between two main factions of the country’s military regime, resulting in the death of more than 250 people and leaving approximately 2,600 others injured in Khartoum and other cities. The conflict involves the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the main paramilitary force. This situation has raised the possibility of a civil war breaking out across the country.
Sudan has been under the control of a council of generals since the 2021 coup, with two military leaders at the center of the current dispute: Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is effectively the country’s president and head of the armed forces, and his deputy, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who leads the RSF paramilitary group. The two generals have differing views on the country’s future direction, particularly regarding the proposed shift toward civilian rule.
