Nearly 2,000 Indians out of conflict zone, Hakki Pikkis enroute home; Foreign secy on Sudan rescue [details]

More than 3,000 Indians were reported to be stranded in Sudan when the conflict broke out between the country’s army and paramilitary forces on April 15. Back home, a war of words broke out between former CM of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

How many Indians rescued so far?

Earlier this week on Monday, India launched Operation Kaveri to rescue its citizens. Indian ship, INS Sumedha, carrying 278 passengers was headed towards Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, 297 more Indians were rescued from the violence-hit African nation. By Thursday, the sixth batch comprising 128 rescued Indians arrived in Jedah taking the total count of those rescued to 1,100.

In the narrow window period of the 72-hour ceasefire provided by Sudan, several nations have been scrambling to send their ships and planes to evacuate their own citizens. The visuals of rescued Indians, carrying the Tricolour, have been making their way to social media.

When the intense fighting began in the conflict-ridden African nation, around 31 people from Karnataka were also among those stranded. The 31 people in question belong to the Hakki Pikki community with several of them belonging to a village in Davanagere.

Last week with the families appealing to the government for evacuation, things took a political turn when former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah tweeted, “It is reported that 31 people from Karnataka belonging to Hakki Pikki tribe are stranded in Sudam which is troubled by civil war.”

Tagging the PM, Home Minister and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, he further added, “I urge you to immediately intervene and ensure their safe return.”

Reportedly 31 people from Indo nomadic tribe Hakki Pikki were left stranded in Sudan for several days without food. The public request didn’t go down well with Jaishankar who informed that the Embassy of India in Khartoum had been continuously in touch with most Indian nationals and also tweeted, “Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake, don’t do politics.” To which Siddaramaiah retorted, “If you are busy getting appalled please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back.” The request and response on both sides were enough to trigger off a heated exchange between the two.

Hakki Pikkis enroute home

On Wednesday, over 200 Hakki Pikki tribals had already boarded buses on their way to Port Sudan before they were scheduled to reach Bengaluru, said a report in The New Indian Express. They were a part of the second batch of evacuees. Of those arriving back home, several recounted the trauma of being stranded in a conflict zone.

In the special media briefing on Operation Kaveri, the foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, “3400 Indian nationals have either registered online or they are in touch with the embassy.” While assuring that no Indian will be left behind, and responding to a question on how many Indians left behind in Sudan, he said, “The situation on the ground is very complex, highly volatile and unpredictable too. Our endeavour is to pull them out of conflict zone and into an area of greater safety. Substantial number of buses are currently on the way to Port Sudan. I would say if you were to total Indian nationals who have reached back in India, are in Jeddah and Port Sudan, on the way from Khartoum city, approximately we’d be touching close to 2000 who’ve moved out of the conflict zone.”