Sudan hails India's swift action to rescue stranded citizens in the conflict-ridden nation

Ambassador of Sudan to India Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain informed that the evacuation in Sudan is challenging due to the political situation, adding that India's response is appreciated. New Delhi's swift action to rescue its stranded citizens in conflict-ridden Sudan is commendable, Elhusain said in an interview with ANI. "The evacuation process which started a couple of days ago, has been going successfully till now," the Ambassador of Sudan to India stressed.

"We took advantage of the ceasefire for the last few days, and most of the diplomatic missions, including the European Union, the US, France, and Jordan, have been evacuated," he stated.

The Ambassador of Sudan to India furthermore noted that earlier yesterday, the evacuation of the Indian citizens kicked off in full swing and that the embassy has been working closely with India's Ministry of External Affairs in India to coordinate Operation Kaveri. As many as 530 Indian nationals have been evacuated from the conflict-ridden on a naval ship via the Red Sea route to the port of Jeddah where at least two military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were stationed. "The estimated number of Indian citizens in the West African country of Sudan is around 3000," said the Sudanese Envoy. 

Furthermore, the Sudanese ambassador noted that India's evacuation operation began at Port Sudan and that an estimated 300-500 Indian citizens have been lifted out of Sudan onboard the Navy vessel. "The evacuation process is a very sensitive process due to the political situation, due to the violation of the ceasefire. Due to the distance between Khartoum and Port Sudan, where most Indian citizens are staying, which is almost 1000 kilometres, they will have to go by road. So, it is evident and obvious that this needs a lot of arrangements and coordination," the Sudanese ambassador to India stressed. 

'Impressed about the response of the reaction of the Indian authorities': Sudan ambassador to India

Tough security and protection were arranged for the Indian convoy carrying citizens from Khartoum towards Sudan. "Hopefully, this operation will continue until all Indian citizens come back safely to their homes and to their families," Elhusain iterated. 
Under Operation, the Kaveri Indian Navy sent the INS Teg vessel that arrived at Port Sudan on Tuesday with humanitarian material.   

"I think I will appreciate and be impressed about the response of the reaction of the Indian authorities and especially the people in the Ministry of External Affairs. I have been working closely 24 hours a day and we really did a good job in coordinating cooperation, providing necessary permits for aircraft, for ships to fly and to land in Sudan and to bring back Indian citizens," said Sudan's ambassador to India. 

With respect to the violation of the ceasefire, the ambassador noted, "As regards the current situation on the ground, I think the most important development is that now we're witnessing the fourth ceasefire. The last three ceasefires were not so successful. But the fourth one, which is going through right now, is holding on the ground relatively. I mean, there are still violations from the rebel side. But the ceasefire is holding better than the previous ones." He continued, "I think it is understood that during such a situation of insecurity, of clashes, one of the scariest things, for example, is to bring our people from the shelter to the port of evacuation, in the airport or Port Sudan. So, it is really a very challenging operation, the evacuation of civilians during this time of uncertainty of clashes, it is very sensitive and in my understanding, the volume of problems we faced during this operation, relatively is reasonable."  The ambassador noted that the United States and Saudi Arabia have also contributed to the evacuation but "this has not been materialized".

"There is some news about mediation by the United States and Saudi Arabia. But this is still going on, I mean not yet materialized. A lot of peace mediation was offered by the African Union, and three leaders from Kenya, South Sudan, and Djibouti expressed their interest and intention to visit Sudan, to mediate but due to the security situation and the difficulties in arriving in Sudan and we hope that everything will be possible in the coming future," he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Commenting on the bilateral ties between India and Sudan, ambassador Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain stressed that the two countries share deep ties which are deeply rooted. "I don't want to talk about history, but India and Sudan also enjoy a very excellent bilateral relationship, since the independence of Sudan in 1956. And even Sudan also participated in 1955 before its independence for the non-alignment movement. India is a major player in that movement, and it kept its relationship with third-world countries even after the end of the Cold War in the 1990s of the last century," he said.. The latter also noted that India and Sudan share rich culture and other similarities, and diversification. 

"India and Sudan have very special ties even in Sudan. We have a Sudanese community originally from India, they came to Sudan 100 years ago, and they are staying there and now they are Sudanese. We have had a very special and very strong relationship with India over the years since our independence in 1956. And we hope that this will continue for the future," Sudan ambassador to India said. 

(With ANI Inputs)