Sudan conflict: Third naval ship reached Port Sudan for evacuation via Operation Kaveri, says Foreign Secretary

The first priority is to get Indians out of the conflict zone to a zone of greater safety in the capital city of Khartoum, Kwatra said, adding that the evacuees then need to be moved 850 km northeast to Port Sudan.

Kwatra said that around 3,500 Indians and 1,000 Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) are believed to be in the country. “We are constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan since the conflict began on April 15,” he said.

The Foreign Secretary also said that India has received requests for the evacuation of citizens of other countries too from Sudan, but this is subject to the fulfilment of the procedures as there is a third intermediary country involved. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister had, on April 25, thanked India for offering support in the evacuation of its citizens.

We have been closely following the situation of Sri Lankans in #Sudan & are actively working on their safe #evacuation. We appreciate the offer of support by #India in this regard. We are confident we can achieve this within the next few days @MFA_SriLanka

— M U M Ali Sabry (@alisabrypc) April 25, 2023

The third naval ship, INS Tarkash, also reached Port Sudan on April 27, he said. He added that the government has been coordinating closely with Saudi Arabian counterparts to figure out the logistics. The Foreign Secretary said that Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to welcome the evacuees.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), under Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary group RSF, under Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagal, have been fighting for nearly two weeks now, killing hundreds of people, injuring thousands more and triggering a mass exodus to the neighbouring African nations. One Indian — Albert Augustine, 48, an ex-serviceman from Kerala — was killed last week after he was hit by a stray bullet.