KHARTOUM (Sudan): Even as the Sudan conflict rages on, another batch of the Indian Air Force C-130J flight with 135 stranded Indians took off from the crisis-hit country on Friday.
This is the 12th batch of stranded citizens heading to Jeddah.
“An IAF C-130J takes off from Port Sudan with 135 passengers for Jeddah. This marks the 12th batch of stranded Indians evacuated under #OperationKaveri,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.
Along with this development, INS Sumedha, which is stationed at Port Sudan, had also left the crisis-hit country with 300 passengers onboard for Jeddah.
As many as 2,400 Indians have evacuated from Sudan, where the country is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces.
“Nearly 2,400 Indians evacuated! INS Sumedha departs from Port Sudan with 300 passengers onboard for Jeddah. 13th batch of Indians evacuated under #OperationKaveri,” Bagchi said in another tweet.
Earlier, on Friday, the Indian Air Force C-130J evacuated the 10th and 11th batches of 135 passengers from Port Sudan to Jeddah after the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to extend their ceasefire amid ongoing violence in the capital Khartoum and the western Darfur region.
Earlier, the Sudanese army said it would extend the ceasefire “for an additional 72 hours” following mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States in the final hours of the repeatedly broken three-day truce, due to end at midnight (22:00 GMT) on Thursday.
The RSF also said it approved the extended truce, adding that the proposal came from two diplomatic groupings that include the US, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Sudan has been on the boil as a result of the ongoing clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. There have been reports of violence and clashes even during the ongoing 72-hour ceasefire.
Clashes erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
Committed to ensuring that no Indian national is left behind in Sudan, India has deployed its military planes and warships in the war-torn country. (ANI)