India has evacuated about 1,100 of its nationals from Sudan since it mounted an operation to rescue citizens stranded amid intense fighting between the army and a paramilitary force in the strife torn African nation.
Hundreds more have reached Port Sudan and will be brought back home, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters at a news conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
The Indians are being taken aboard naval ships that have been docked in Port Sudan to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, from where they are being flown back to India, according to the foreign ministry.
He described the situation in the strife torn African nation as “highly volatile.”
India is among countries that have been scrambling to evacuate citizens and diplomats in recent days as a three-day cease-fire brought some respite in the intense fighting in Sudan. It is due to end later Thursday.
“The last cease-fire of 72 hours is holding by and large but there has been feedback of some sporadic firing and fighting in some parts of Khartoum,” according to Kwatra. “As a result, the situation on the ground remains highly volatile and unpredictable, with conflicting claims coming from both sides.”
He described Operation Kaveri, which has been launched to rescue the Indians, as a complex one that involved ferrying people along an 850-kilometer land corridor from the Sudanese capital Khartoum to Port Sudan.
Ensuring safety along the 12-to-18-hour road journey from Khartoum was complicated by efforts to secure buses and diesel fuel, according to Kwatra.
There are an estimated 3,500 Indian nationals in Sudan while another 1,000 people of Indian origin who have lived for generations in the country also want safe passage. Most Indians live in or around Khartoum, where fighting is most intense.
Indian authorities said that they have been in touch with both the warring sides to ensure that the people are brought to the relative safety of Port Sudan. The ongoing fighting has erupted between Sudan's regular army and a paramilitary unit called the Rapid Support Forces.
After the first group of Indians reached India on Wednesday, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Twitter, “India welcomes back its own.
#OperationKaveri brings 360 Indian Nationals to the homeland as first flight reaches New Delhi."
Earlier this week, he said that New Delhi is "committed to assist all our brethren in Sudan."
Indian authorities also said they are willing to assist other countries that want safe passage for their nationals.
One of the Indians evacuated from Sudan told news agency ANI that "the fight was intense. We were struggling for food. The scenario continued for two to three days." The news agency did not identify him.
