9th Day of Operation Kaveri: Total 3,584 Indians evacuated from Sudan

Khartoum [Sudan], May 4 (ANI): A total of 3,584 Indians have been evacuated from the strife-torn Sudan under “Operation Kaveri” which completed nine days of operations on Thursday, according to the Indian embassy in Sudan.

Nine days have passed since the Government of India launched its ambitious rescue mission, “Operation Kaveri” to evacuate stranded Indians in conflict-ridden Sudan. The operation was carried out using 5 Indian Naval Ships and 16 Indian Air Force aircraft including one from Wadi Sayyidna military airbase.

The Embassy of India in Sudan tweeted, “As on today 3584 Indians have been evacuated from Sudan. Embassy of India mobilized and facilitated movement of 67 buses from various parts of Sudan to reach Port Sudan. So far Indians have moved out of Port Sudan using 5 Indian Naval Ships and 16 Indian Air Force aircraft including one from Wadi Sayyidna military airbase.”

The Indian embassy in Sudan also informed about the evacuation of 80 Indians from El Fashir in Western Sudan to Port Sudan, after they travelled for almost 48 hours.

In a tweet the Indian embassy in Khartoum stated, “9th day of Operation Kaveri, one of the most herculean task of brining Indians stranded in El Fashir was achieved today. Indian Embassy mobilised its resources and coordinated with various stake holders in conflict zones to ensure safe travel for its citizens over an arduous journey of over 1800 km.”

The embassy also recognised the endurance of the Indian community who completed this challenging journey.

“Two buses from El Fashir in Western Sudan carrying 80 Indians reached Port Sudan (East of Sudan) safely after travelling for more than 48 hours. We would like to acknowledge the resilience shown by the members of the Indian community who endured this challenging journey.”

The two warring factions in Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to a seven-day ceasefire, according to a statement of the foreign ministry of South Sudan on Tuesday, reported CNN.

The statement added that the two sides also said that they would send representatives for peace talks “to be held at an agreed venue of their choice.” Neither SAF nor RSF commented on the report on their official channels.

Previous ceasefires haven’t been able to put an end to the violence between the opposing factions across the nation. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese army, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the RSF, failed to reach an agreement, and in the middle of April, there were violent skirmishes between the two sides that resulted in at least 528 deaths and large-scale migration of refugees from the country, CNN reported.

Tuesday’s announcement came after the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) warned that more than 800,000 people may migrate to other nations as continuous violence impedes convoys to evacuate people from Sudan’s major ports. (ANI)