Days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a call to his Saudi Arabian counterpart, some Indian citizens were evacuated from the conflict-torn Sudan in a rescue mission conducted by Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan on Friday.
According to a statement by the Saudi Arabia Foreign Ministry, "citizens of several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries were evacuated."
"In the implementation of the directives of the Kingdom’s Leadership, we are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the evacuated citizens of the Kingdom from Sudan and several nationals of brotherly & friendly countries, including diplomats & international officials," Saudi Arabia Foreign Ministry statement said.
The Kingdom reportedly conducted the evacuation across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah. As many as 66 citizens from 12 nations were evacuated, including several Indian nationals.
"The number of citizens who were evacuated reached 91 citizens, while the number of people who were evacuated from brotherly and friendly countries reached approximately 66, representing the following nationalities (Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso). The Kingdom worked to provide all the necessary needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure to their countries," the statement added.
There were reportedly over 3,000 Indian citizens in Sudan.
Besides Saudi, the U.S. military too evacuated American diplomats and their families from Sudan. The operation, involving six aircraft, was carried out in coordination with Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), said Reuters.
A statement by U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington is temporarily suspending operations at its embassy in Sudan. Biden said he was receiving regular reports from his team on their ongoing work to assist Americans in Sudan to the extent possible and is working with allies and partners on the effort.
According to the World Health Organisation, the fighting has killed more than 400 people since erupting on April 15 between two factions whose leaders are vying for control over the country.
Though many countries are planning evacuations by sending planes from Djibouti, their efforts are hampered by the fact that the airports in Khartoum and Darfur's biggest city Nyala are not operational and are "problematic."
Meanwhile, fighting rages on in the African nation, leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded as people continue to struggle for food amid power and water shortage.
Despite the three-day ceasefire, fighting continued in the country between the RSF and the military. Both sides accused the other of not respecting the truce. "I don’t have a problem with the ceasefire," Hemedti told Al Arabiya TV late on Saturday. "They [the army] did not respect it. If they respect it, so will we."