IAF planes in Jeddah, Navy ship in Sudan ready to evacuate Indians
Describing the security situation in Sudan as complex and evolving, the government on Sunday said it is pursuing multiple options to evacuate the 3,000 Indian citizens stuck in the conflict-hit country.
The ministry of external affairs, in a statement, said India has positioned two IAF C-130J on standby in Jeddah and that Indian naval ship ‘Sumedha’ has reached Port Sudan. India’s decision to deploy the Super Hercules military transport aircraft followed the high-level meeting PM Narendra Modi chaired on Friday in which he asked officials to ready contingency evacuation plans. India had used the C-130J earlier also for Afghanistan evacuation.
“Government of India is making all-out efforts to ensure safety and security of Indians stranded in Sudan. We are also coordinating closely with various partners for the safe movement of those Indians who are stranded in Sudan and would like to be evacuated,” said the foreign ministry, adding that apart from Sudanese authorities, India is also in contact with the UN, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and US among others. Three Indians were evacuated by Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The Sudanese army, one of the parties involved in the violence that has seen more than 400 dead, was quoted as saying that they would facilitate the evacuation of diplomats and foreign nationals by military aircraft.