Shillong, April 27: Before the ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary group expires, India is hoping to rescue more of its residents from the conflict-torn African nation of Sudan. To date, 670 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Sudan under Operation Kaveri.
A day after an Indian Navy ship rescued 278 people from Port Sudan, an Indian Air Force C-130J military aircraft transported 392 Indians from that country to Jeddah in three flights on Wednesday.
According to government statistics, 670 Indians have so far been evacuated from Sudan.
The first evacuation wave took a commercial flight from Jeddah to New Delhi on Wednesday night.
India is transporting Sudanese refugees to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as part of its evacuation mission, “Operation Kaveri,” from where they will fly back to their country.
“#OperationKaveri continues. 4th batch of stranded Indians departs from Port Sudan for Jeddah. IAF C-130J takes off with 136 passengers on board,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
India has established a transit hub in Jeddah, and Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan is in charge of organising the city’s evacuation.
The frontline ship of the Indian Navy, INS Sumedha, evacuated the first group of 278 Indians from Port Sudan on Tuesday.
Jaishankar claims that 121 people were transported to Jeddah by the first C-130J aircraft, while 135 people were evacuated by the second.