Operation Kaveri: 135 Indian citizens reach Jeddah enroute India from Sudan

A batch of 135 Indian passengers from war-torn Sudan reached Jeddah on Tuesday, even as 231 passengers reached Ahmedabad under the ongoing rescue operation titled Operation Kaveri.

"18th batch of Indian evacuees reached Jeddah evacuating 135 passengers from Sudan," the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia tweeted on Tuesday evening.

Earlier, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had informed through a tweet that "another #OperationKaveri flight lands in Ahmedabad. 231 more passengers have reached home safely".

Around 3,000 Indians have been evacuated safely from Sudan so far, who are being brought to India via Jeddah.

Intense fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitary forces has been going on since April 14, which has led to the killing of more than 500 people there.

The Indian government had launched Operation Kaveri after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reviewed the situation in Sudan on April 21 and sought an evacuation plan for Indians stuck there.

Since then, Indian citizens are being evacuated from Khartoum through Port of Sudan to Jeddah, enroute India.

Indian Air Force jets and Indian Navy warships are involved in the evacuation operation, sources informed.