India steps up ops, evacuates 360 more citizens from Sudan

A group of 360 Indians evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia reached New Delhi on Wednesday even as efforts were underway to bring out hundreds more from the northeast African nation using a warship and military transport aircraft.

India used two C-130J military transport aircraft and warship INS Sumedha to evacuate more than 530 citizens from Sudan since Tuesday, taking advantage of a 72-hour ceasefire between the regular army and a rebel paramilitary force.

The evacuation gained momentum after forces loyal to the Sudan Army chief, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy-turned-rival, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), agreed on the truce. However, the security situation remained fragile, with armed clashes reported in the capital Khartoum and other places.

Minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan, who has travelled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to oversee repatriation efforts, saw off 360 Indian nationals who were put on a flight bound for New Delhi on Wednesday. “Under #OperationKaveri the Government is working relentlessly to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan & bring them home safely,” he said in a tweet.

About 400 more Indians are expected to be ferried from Port Sudan by the warship INS Teg and a C-130J aircraft late on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said. Port Sudan, the country’s main port located more than 800km from Khartoum, has emerged as the main base for India’s evacuation effort as the airport in the capital city is not operational.

The Indian side is focused on efforts to move Indian nationals from conflict zones to safer areas by bus. They are then brought to Port Sudan, from where they can be ferried across the Red Sea by naval vessels and military aircraft to Jeddah, the people said.

“Movement by road was relatively easier [on Wednesday]. There are some Indians who don’t want to return home after being brought out of conflict zones as they have deep roots in Sudan,” one of the people cited above said.

The first batch of 278 Indians were ferried from Port Sudan to Jeddah by INS Sumedha on Tuesday. Two more batches comprising 121 people and 135 people were flown out from Port Sudan in C-130J aircraft. India had positioned two of these aircraft in Jeddah on Sunday.

More Indians have been making their way to Port Sudan, though there are still problems in evacuating hundreds stranded in Khartoum, where the main airport has been damaged in fighting. Nearly 3,000 Indians were in Sudan when the fighting erupted over the weekend.

Indian authorities are also exploring other options for evacuating Indians from Khartoum and other locations, including the use of military airbases located near the capital.

The Indian side has set up a control room and a transit facility in Jeddah to facilitate the evacuation. The transit facility is equipped with provisions, fresh meals, medical facilities and beds.

The people said Saudi Arabia, with which the Indian side established close contact soon after the fighting erupted in Sudan on April 14, is playing a crucial role in the evacuation.

The ceasefire is partially holding, though there are no signs the warring factions are ready for serious negotiations on ending the fighting, the UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, told a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

“There is yet no unequivocal sign that either is ready to seriously negotiate, suggesting that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible,” he said.

According to UN agencies, the fighting has killed 459 people and injured more than 4,000. Many areas in Sudan are without electricity and water, and food shortages have been reported in Khartoum and other cities.