Some Indian nationals were evacuated among 66 citizens from 12 nations from the conflict-hit Sudan to Saudi Arabia. The evacuation occurred just days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Saudi counterpart, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level conference to discuss Sudan’s security situation on Friday.
In a statement, the Saudi Arabia ministry confirmed the “safe arrival” of 91 Saudi citizens and about 66 nationals from the following countries: Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso. 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.
“We are pleased to announce the safe arrival of citizens of the Kingdom who were evacuated from the Republic of Sudan, as well as several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries, including diplomats and international officials, who arrived in an evacuation operation carried out by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces with the support of various branches of the armed forces,” the statement said.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level meeting via video conference to assess the security situation in Sudan. During the discussion, Prime Minister Modi examined the most recent developments in Sudan and heard an on-the-ground assessment, with a particular emphasis on the safety of approximately 3,000 Indian citizens now located around the country.
The Prime Minister conveyed his sympathies on the death of an Indian national who was killed by a stray bullet last week.
Prime Minister Modi directed that all necessary officials be attentive, closely monitoring developments and continuously assessing the safety of Indian nationals in Sudan and offering all available aid to them. The Prime Minister also directed the development of contingency evacuation plans, taking into account the quickly changing security picture and the viability of various options. Earlier, Jaishankar had a meeting on April 20 met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York and discussed the developments in Sudan.
“We had a very good meeting. Most of our meeting was on the Sudan situation. We also discussed the G20, and Ukraine conflict, but essentially it was about Sudan,” Jaishankar told ANI.
Jaishankar said that the Indian government is in continuous touch with its citizens stuck in Sudan.
“Our team in Delhi is in continuous touch with the Indians in Sudan, advising them, saying we know it’s very difficult for everybody but keep calm and don’t take unnecessary risk. I hope that the efforts will yield something very soon,” the EAM said.
Fighting has been raging between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict began in 2021, when a coup between Sudan’s military chief and his deputy on the ruling council erupted, destabilising a plan for a civilian democracy following the demise of longstanding dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Elections were scheduled to take place by the end of 2023.