JEDDAH: Indian Air Force C-130 J flight on Monday evacuated the 17th batch of 122 Indians from Port Sudan to Jeddah amid heavy infighting in Sudan.
“#OperationKaveri IAF C-130 J flight brings 17th batch of evacuees from Port Sudan to Jeddah. 122 Indians evacuated by this flight,” tweeted Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that 135 passengers are heading to Jeddah from Port Sudan onboard an IAF C-130J flight.
“17th batch of Indian evacuees departs from Port Sudan onboard IAF C-130J flight. 135 passengers are heading to Jeddah. #OperationKaveri,” he tweeted.
Fighting is underway in Khartoum as the UN warns that Sudan is at a humanitarian “breaking point”.
Rival military forces accuse each other of new violations of a ceasefire that they had just agreed to extend as their devastating conflict enters a third week.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Sudan has warned that the humanitarian crisis in the country is turning into a “full flown catastrophe” and that the risk of spillover into neighbouring countries was worrisome.
“It has been more than two weeks of devastating fighting in Sudan, a conflict that is turning Sudan’s humanitarian crisis into a full-blown catastrophe,” Abdou Dieng, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, told a briefing of member states via video link.
The UN assistant high commissioner for refugees has said that more than 800,000 people may flee Sudan.
The commissioner said the UN has temporarily paused operations in some parts of Sudan, including Khartoum.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday tweeted: “With almost 1400 Indians evacuated in IAF aircraft over the past few days, two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above 90 years of age & one above 102 years of age.”
Earlier, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar, on Sunday, said that nearly 2300 evacuee Indians have reached India.
“A C-130 Indian Airforce flight has landed in New Delhi with 40 passengers. With this flight, around 2,300 people have reached India,” EAM Jaishankar tweeted.
The number reached the 2300 mark on the 8th flight however, following it, three more flights carried 229, 288 and 135 passengers respectively, taking the number of evacuees to more than 2500.
The Indian government under Operation Kaveri, is set to evacuate about 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan.
Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces.
Fighting has 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 to bring its citizens safely under Operation Kaveri. (ANI)