- The Indian government appears to be preparing for a mass evacuation of 3,000-4,000 stranded Indian citizens in violence-hit Sudan.
- Two Indian Air Force C-130J are currently positioned on standby in Jeddah and INS Sumedha has reached Port Sudan.
- The Indian embassy premises in Khartoum is vacant due to heavy fighting in the area but embassy personnel are safely residing in other areas and assisting stranded Indian citizens.
- MEA has also set up a control room to provide information and assistance to Indians stranded in Sudan.
- The development came days after PM Modi had chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan.
- Violence has been raging in Sudan for over a week between the army chief and his deputy.
- Over 300 people, including an Indian national, have died amid intense fighting there, especially in the capital, Khartoum.
The Indian government appears to be preparing for a mass evacuation of 3,000-4,000 stranded Indian citizens in violence-hit Sudan, having stationed military aircraft in Jeddah and Port Sudan.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday released a statement and it noted that 66 foreign nationals from countries like India, Pakistan, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso were evacuated from Sudan in a Saudi-led operation.
The development came days after PM Modi had chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan. Earlier in the week, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had also spoken to Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud about the situation in the African country.
Violence has been raging in Sudan for over a week between the country’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs Sunday, two Indian Air Force C-130J are currently positioned on standby in Jeddah and INS Sumedha has reached Port Sudan. It added that “contingency plans are in place”, however, the ground situation remains “volatile”, Sudanese airspace remains closed to foreign aircraft and overland movement also poses logistical challenges.
“Contingency plans are in place but any movement on the ground would depend on the security situation,” noted the MEA. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi Friday indicated that the Indian embassy premises in Khartoum is vacant due to heavy fighting in the area but embassy personnel are safely residing in other areas of the country and are assisting stranded Indian citizens.
MEA has also set up a control room to provide information and assistance to Indians stranded in Sudan. Over 300 people, including an Indian national, have died amid intense fighting there, especially in the capital, Khartoum.
