6th Operation Kaveri flight with 365 Indians leaves Jeddah

JEDDAH [Saudi Arabia]: The sixth Operation Kaveri Flight with 365 Indian nationals on board has departed Jeddah for New Delhi. "Another flight carrying Indian evacuees departs from Jeddah to New Delhi. 365 passengers onboard this 6th outbound flight are on their way back home," MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, a flight carrying 231 Indian passengers evacuated from conflict-torn Sudan, reached New Delhi. The Indian evacuees shouted slogans like "Bharat Mata ki jai," and "Vande Mataram" and also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for rescuing them from Sudan under Operation Kaveri.

One of the Indian passengers shared the tough humanitarian crisis faced by them in Sudan.

"It has become very difficult to stay in Sudan due to ongoing conflict. There is a shortage of food and drinking water, moreover, there are continuous bombings, and rockets are being fired. None of us were coming out of our houses. The food canteen was bombed. It is very difficult to flee also, travelling in the vehicle is also not safe, they can bomb buses too," said an Indian electrician from Buxar, Bihar evacuated from Sudan.

He lauded Operation Kaveri and said that his evacuation from Sudan was like "re-birth" as he had lost hope to survive.

"If it had not been PM Modi and EAM Jaishankar none of the Indians could have come here alive. From the deep of my heart, I want to thank them. Bharat Mata ki jai, Modiji Zindabad," he added.

"#OperationKaveri moves further. 231 Indian reach home safely as another flight reaches New Delhi," tweeted Jaishankar. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Garud Commandos carried out a daring, overnight operation to air-lift stranded Indians despite the airstrip in Sudan's Wadi Seidna having no navigational approach, aids or fuel, and landing lights (that are required to guide an aircraft landing at night).

On the night of April 27, 28, 2023, the IAF C-130J aircraft rescued 121 personnel from a small airstrip at Wadi Seidna, which is about 40 km North of Khartoum, Sudan, the IAF said in a statement. Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces.

Even though there is a 72-hour ceasefire, there have been allegations of violence. 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.