New Delhi: In Sudan, the two generals agreed to a 72-hour armistice. The ceasefire came after nearly 10 days of fighting, hundreds of deaths and the exodus of a large number of foreigners. A ceasefire had been tried by both sides before this but it failed. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that after 48 hours of intense negotiations, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force had agreed to a nationwide ceasefire. Meanwhile, the process of operation Cauvery, which has been conducted to evacuate Indians trapped there during the ceasefire, has been speeded up.
Information has been received that more than 550 Indians have been evacuated in the last 24 hours. An IAF C-130J aircraft has reached Jeddah, Saudi Arabia carrying the third batch of 135 Indians from Port Sudan. Union Minister V Muralidharan tweeted that the onward journey of all Indians who reached Jeddah will begin soon. More than 4 thousand Indians live in Sudan. Let it be known that Operation Cauvery is being jointly conducted by Indian Navy and Air Force. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted that INS Sumedha reached Jeddah with 278 passengers under Operation Cauvery. He also thanked the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia.
This is the third batch of Sudanese Indians facing civil war. Earlier, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muralidharan welcomed the 148 Indians in the second batch. An IAF C-130 aircraft carrying 121 passengers arrived at Jeddah Airport on Wednesday. Earlier, a naval ship INS Sumedha arrived at Jeddah port with 278 passengers. 500 Indian ships reached Sudan on Monday.
At the Republic Summit, the Air Force Chief briefed about Operation Cauvery
At the ongoing Republic Summit 2023 in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Air Force Chief said that we have successfully carried out Operation Ganga and safely evacuated the students stranded in Ukraine from our aircraft. Similarly we are starting Operation Kaveri to evict all Indians from Sudan. Air Force planes have been dispatched for this. Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhary said, “Where were we in 1988? Mobile connectivity was a distant dream. I am confident that the entire country will become technology-savvy in the next 25 years.”