’They kept us hostage…’: Indians evacuated from Sudan recount ordeal; first flight set to reach Delhi at 9 pm

As the Sudan crisis continues hundreds of Indians were evacuated under Operation Kaveri this week. With the two warring factions agreeing upon a 72-hour ceasefire on Monday, several countries have moved to extricate citizens at the speed of light.

“The fight was intense. We were struggling for food. The scenario continued for 2-3 days,” one of the rescued individuals told news agency ANI.

"The tent of Rapid Support Forces was fixated near our company. Early morning at around 9, the forces entered our company. We were looted. They kept us hostage for 8 hours. They aimed riffles at our chest and looted us. Our mobiles were stolen. We kept in touch with the Embassy and told them to arrange for the buses, as we had diesel. The Indian Navy came and treated us well," another said. 

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the first batch of 360 stranded Indians are set to reach Delhi by 9 pm today. They had earlier been evacuated from Sudan to Jeddah.

“Happy to see off 360 Indians at Jeddah Airport in a flight bound for New Delhi. They will be reaching the motherland soon, reuniting with their families. Under Operation Kaveri the Government is working relentlessly to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan and bring them home safely,” tweeted MoS V Muraleedharan, sharing a video from the flight.

The Indian Air Force very recently rescued another batch of around 250 trapped Indians from conflict-torn Sudan as part of the rescue effort. More than 250 people were evacuated from Port Sudan by two IAF C-130 J planes. Prior to this, 135 more stranded Indians were rescued from Sudan on Wednesday.

(With inputs from agencies)