Operation Kaveri ( hi, कावेरी : ''Kaveri,'' .

Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

) was an operation conducted by the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

to evacuate

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

citizens and foreign nationals from

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

during the

2023 Sudan conflict An armed conflict between rival factions of the military government of Sudan began on 15 April 2023, when clashes broke out in cities, with the fighting concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of 27 May, at le ...

. The evacuation was conducted by air and sea, most likely in

Port Sudan Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% ...

where most of the evacuations were done by

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

through

INS Sumedha INS ''Sumedha'' (P58) is the third of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed indigenously by the Goa Shipyard Limited Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) is an Indian Government owned ship building company located on the West Coast of India at V ...

. The operation was conducted for the evacuations of thousands of Indians in Sudan, primarily in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

, the capital of the country.

Background

The history of conflicts in Sudan has consisted of foreign invasions and resistance,

ethnic tensions Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in varying degrees. There are multiple origins for ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflic ...

, religious disputes, and competition over resources. In its modern history, two civil wars between the central government and the southern regions killed 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

has displaced two million people and killed more than 200,000 people. Since

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1956, Sudan has had more than fifteen military coups and it has also been ruled by the military for the majority of the republic's existence, with only brief periods of democratic civilian parliamentary rule. On 15 April 2023, the RSF launched a surprise attack on multiple Sudanese Army bases across the country, including in the capital

. At 12:00 (

CAT The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

), RSF forces claimed to have captured

Khartoum International Airport Khartoum International Airport (Arabic:مطار الخرطوم الدولي) is the principal airport in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The current airport will be replaced by the New Khartoum International Airport in Omdourman 40 kilom ...

Merowe Airport Merowe Airport is an airport serving the town of Merowe in Sudan. After critical facilities were completed in 2006, the current airport replaced the smaller Merowe Town airport to the west. The new Merowe airport has hosted Sudanese Air Force ...

El Obeid Airport El Obeid Airport is an airport serving El-Obeid, the capital city of the North Kurdufan state in Sudan. Facilities The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 01/19 with an asphalt surface measuring ...

as well as a base in

Soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found i ...

. Clashes between RSF and the Army erupted at the Presidential Palace and at the residence of General al-Burhan, with both sides claiming control over the two sites.

Operation

Alarmed by the growing tensions and the conflict, India joined several other countries to make a massive evacuation of nationals and citizens from Sudan, the next day India announced the start of Operation Kaveri as 500 Indians were reported in

. On 24 April, External Affairs Ministry said two

C-130J The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest v ...

aircraft and

Garud Commando Force The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from ''Garuda'', a divine bird-like creature in Hindu cultur ...

operatives of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

were on standby in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

, Saudi Arabia as part of preparations for evacuation, while the

's had reached

. On 25 April, 278 Indians were transported by sea to INS ''Sumedha''. On the night of April 27–28, a

aircraft of the

with 121 Indians took off from

Wadi Seidna Air Base Wadi Seidna Air Base is a military airport north of Khartoum in Sudan. The air base's history goes back to World War II. The U.S. Army Air Forces' 46th Ferrying Squadron, Air Transport Command, was activated at the base on 2 December 1942. The ...

. The flight was dangerous, as fighting was going on in this area (later a Turkish plane would come under fire here). Approaching the airstrip, the IAF pilots used their onboard

electro-optical Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the propaga ...

and

infrared sensors Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

to ensure that the runway was free of obstructions and no inimical forces were in the vicinity. The pilots adopted a tactical approach—as done in war zones—using

night vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

. On landing, the aircraft engines were kept running while eight IAF Garud commandos, fully armed with automatic weapons, located, verified and secured the passengers and their luggage into the aircraft. The take-off from the runway was again carried out with night vision goggles. A total of 754 Indian citizens were evacuated on 28 April. Among those rescued was an employee of the French diplomatic mission, as well as his family. Nearly 2,400 Indian citizens evacuated from Sudan as of 29 April 2023. Nearly 231 Indian citizens (most of them from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

) were evacuated from Sudan on 2 May 2023. India completed the evacuation of Hakki Pikki tribe members of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

from Sudan. The Indian evacuees including the Hakki Pikki tribes were housed in a school in Port Sudan, before being flown to Jiddah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaveri 2023 in aviation 2023 in international relations April 2023 events in India May 2023 events in India April 2023 events in Sudan May 2023 events in Sudan Military operations of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) Evacuations of Indians Non-combatant evacuation operations Non-combat military operations involving India Aviation history of India Naval history of India Airlifts Modi administration India–Sudan relations Impacts of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present)

Background

Operation

See also

References