'They destroyed everything; looted us...' Indians rescued from Sudan share their ordeal
India has rescued a total of 528 citizens from Sudan Port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Upon their arrival, the Indians narrated the ordeal they underwent in the crisis-ridden country.
FollowWithin 24 hours of announcing a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire between the Sudan Army and Rapid Support Forces, India launched 'Operation Kaveri' to rescue its stranded citizens from war-hit Sudan.
It has rescued a total of 528 Indians from Sudan Port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Upon their arrival, the Indians narrated the ordeal they underwent in the crisis-ridden country.
Fighting erupted in Sudan last week between the army and a powerful militia group, the Rapid Support Force (RSF), over time to transition from a military dictatorship to a civilian democracy and subsuming the RSF into the army.
An Indian, who arrived at Jeddah in INS Sumedha, said: "The RSF force came near our company. At 9 am on Monday, they entered our company and started firing and looting our belongings. We were kept hostage for over eight hours; they looted us at gunpoint. They destroyed everything, including files and stole our laptops and mobile phones. I could only manage to secure my mobile because I had hidden it behind a window air conditioner. Then I contacted the embassy. Since the firing was underway, the embassy was not able to do much. They asked us to stay safe. In the evening, we again called the embassy and informed them about the non-availability of food items."
"When we were allowed to move out, we took shelter in a village. Then we moved to another village and again contacted the embassy. We told them we have diesel in our company, you just manage some buses so that everyone can be evacuated. In the first batch, six buses came and each bus had 50 passengers. An Indian managed accommodation and food for us at Port Sudan City. Then, the Indian Navy came and evacuated us from there. We are not carrying anything," he said.
"The situation in Sudan is very precarious. The armed conflict is escalating every day. The firing was taking place next to my house. We have been evacuated to Jeddah and everything is being taken care of," he added.
Yet another Indian said: "We did not have food for two days."
India has deputed two Indian Air Force’s transport aircraft C-130J and two warships -- INS Sumedha and INS Teg -- to repatriate the stranded citizens in Sudan. Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan has been in Jeddah to coordinate the rescue efforts.
As per the reports, there are over 3,000 Indian citizens stranded in Sudan. According to United Nations agencies, a total of 459 people have been killed so far and over 4,000 injured.
