Operation Kaveri: 10th batch of 135 Indian evacuees departs Port Sudan for Jeddah

After the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to extend their ceasefire in the capital Khartoum and the western Darfur region, an IAF C-130J flight evacuated the 10th batch of 135 Indian passengers from Port Sudan to Jeddah on Friday.

“#OperationKaveri progresses further. 10th batch of evacuees with 135 passengers onboard IAF C-130J flight departs Port Sudan for Jeddah,” tweeted the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi. This comes after the 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 stated that it approved the extended cease-fire, adding that it was proposed by two diplomatic groups comprised of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.

Warplanes patrolled the capital’s northern suburbs on Thursday, while fighters on the ground exchanged artillery and heavy machine-gun fire.

The previous ceasefire did not stop the fighting, but it did provide enough of a respite for tens of thousands of Sudanese and foreign nationals to flee to safer areas, and for foreign nations to evacuate hundreds of their citizens by land and sea.

Earlier, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan received the eighth batch of 121 Indians at the Jeddah airport evacuated from the conflict-hit Sudan. This batch also included the family members of the Indian Embassy officials, MoS wrote on Twitter.

“A daring rescue! 8th batch of 121 Indians arrived at Jeddah by IAF C 130 J from Wadi Seidna, Sudan. This evacuation was more complex as the location is in vicinity of Khartoum. Family members of our Embassy Officials were also part of this group. Warm welcome. #OperationKaveri,” Muraleedharan tweeted.