Operation Kaveri: 186 more Indians touch down in Kochi from violence-hit Sudan

Kochi: India on Monday welcomed home another group of 186 individuals as part of 'Operation Kaveri', which was started a week ago to evacuate Indians trapped in violence-hit Sudan.

'#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home. Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

On Sunday, 229 Indians arrived in Bengaluru while 365 people reached Delhi the day before. The total number of Indians who have been brought back home now stands at 2,140, according to official data.

The Indians were returned to their country from Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, where India had established a transit camp for the evacuees. On Wednesday, the first group of 360 evacuees flew back to New Delhi on a commercial flight.

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The second batch of 246 Indian evacuees arrived in Mumbai in a C17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Thursday.

In accordance with "Operation Kaveri," India has been bringing its nationals from Khartoum's conflict zones and other difficult places to Port Sudan, where they are then transported to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah by Indian Air Force's heavy-lift transport aircraft and ships from the Indian Navy.

From Jeddah, the Indians are being brought back home in either commercial flights or IAF's aircraft. 

India stepped up its efforts to evacuate the Indians from Sudan as a 72-hour truce was agreed to between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following intense negotiations.

Other countries are likewise rushing to rescue their people from the conflict-torn Sudan. The US and the UK declared that they had evacuated ambassadors via plane. Diplomats, their families, and even people from other nations were evacuated by France, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, and Spain, among other countries.