The government has managed to move out approximately 1,700-2,000 Indian nationals from the conflict zones in Sudan of which about 600 have either reached India or are on the way, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
“Our estimate is that there are approximately 3,500 Indian nationals and about 1,000 PIOs (People of Indian Origin) in Sudan,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing on Thursday, adding that the situation in the country was extremely volatile and areas outside the city of Khartoum hard to access.
As part of ongoing ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate Indians, a third naval ship has arrived at Port Sudan to take back stranded citizens to the country, Kwatra said.
Deadly violence broke out in Khartoum earlier this month, as the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) clashed in a bitter fight for power.
The Foreign Secretary said India has been in touch with both the Sudanese military and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as India has good relations with the country.
The country’s first priority is to get all stranded Indians out of the conflict zone to a zone of greater safety in the capital city of Khartoum, Kwatra said. They then need to be moved 850 kilometers northeast to Port Sudan.