Operation Kaveri: India's mission to evacuate Indians from Sudan

India has launched Operation Kaveri to evacuate the citizens stranded in Sudan. Sudan is going through a civil war. There are at least 3000 Indians living in Sudan.

Indian nationals are safely being evacuated from battle-torn Sudan through Operation Kaveri.

Why was Operation Kaveri Launched?

Sudan is facing deadly conflicts and fights between the parliamentary group and the army. For the past 11 days, the Indian citizens have been stranded in Sudan. More than 400 people have been killed according to the reports. 

The external minister, S Jaishankar tweeted “Operation Kaveri is underway to bring back our citizens stranded in Sudan. About 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. More on their way. Our ships and aircraft are set to bring them back home. Committed to assisting all our brethren in Sudan,".

Here's all you need to know

India has placed two aircraft, one in Jeddah and the other at the port of Sudan to rescue the Indian nationals stranded in Sudan.

According to ANI, the reason behind keeping the name Operation Kaveri was that river Kaveri is one of the sacred and major Indian rivers flowing through southern India (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu). The river is considered sacred and worshiped by millions of people. They call it Kaveriamma (mother Kaveri).

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that he is looking into this rescue operation and coordinating with various countries in partnership to rescue the Indian citizens stuck in Sudan.

Meanwhile, the situation in Sudan is tense with conflicts and fights taking place in its capital city Khartoum.

PM Modi has laid down certain directions to safely evacuate the Indian nationals in Sudan. S Jaishankar has also discussed this situation with UN General- Secretary, Antonio Guterres.

What is happening in Sudan?

It all revolves around infighting between two rival groups: the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group known as the RSF, or Rapid Support Forces.

Since a 2021 coup in the country, which ended a transitional government established after the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir two years earlier, Sudan has been run by the military, with coup leader General Abdel-Fattah Burhan as de facto ruler.

The assault occurred against the backdrop of a political transition in Sudan, following the ouster of Bashir. The transition was expected to result in elections by the end of 2023, with promises made by Burhan for a transition to civilian rule.

However, it appears that neither Burhan nor Dagalo have any intention of giving up power, and they are currently locked in a power struggle that has turned violent.

Since April 15, 2023, members of the RSF and Sudanese army have engaged in gunfights in Khartoum and other parts of the country, with the violence escalating rapidly over a three-day period.

The immediate cause of the violence was a disagreement over how RSF paramilitaries should be integrated into the Sudanese army, with tensions boiling over after the RSF deployed members without army permission.

Read More

Sudan crisis explained: Why is there fighting in Sudan?

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