India on Friday began preparations for the evacuation of an estimated 3,000 Indian nationals presently situated in different parts of Sudan which has seen intense fighting between the army and a paramilitary force for a week now. The violence has resulted in the killing of over 400 people including an Indian.
As part of an effort to explore all options, the Indian government is maintaining close communication with neighbouring countries in the region and those with a significant number of citizens in Sudan. The plan is to bring back Indians with other evacuation efforts if the logistics work out, given that the northeast African country shares borders with seven nations and is on the Red Sea coast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting this afternoon of senior officials of the departments concerned and also some of the ambassadors based in countries which could play a role in the evacuation.
Today’s meeting comes after the failure of the three-day truce called by the UN, the US and other countries on Thursday for the Id festival. The US announced on Thursday that it was preparing to send additional troops to its base in Djibouti to be in a position to evacuate its embassy staff from Khartoum should the need arise.
Among those who attended the meeting were National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and senior officials of his ministry, besides the air and naval chiefs, and the Indian ambassadors to Sudan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
According to an official press release, the Prime Minister directed the relevant officials to remain vigilant, closely monitor developments and continuously evaluate the safety of Indian nationals in Sudan. He further directed the preparation of contingency evacuation plans, accounting for the rapidly shifting security landscape and the viability of various options.
On Thursday, external affairs ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in response to questions on India’s evacuation plans that much would depend on the situation on the ground. “If we have to evacuate Indians from there, then we always have contingency plans for that, and in this situation as well, we have some plans which are on readiness.
“It all depends on which airport is operational or if we can use the roads. All of that is premature to say at this time and would depend on the security situation.”
The Indian embassy in Khartoum is located in an area which has seen intense fighting and the entire staff is coordinating the situation from home. There were reports that the embassy had been attacked but Bagchi maintained that there was no indication it had been specifically targeted, pointing out that it was in an area of intense fighting.
Meanwhile, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to the Prime Minister requesting him to ensure the safety and safe repatriation of Indian nationals including those from Kerala stuck in Sudan.