Operation Kaveri: Among those rescued from Sudan, one is aged 102

The Indian Air Force alone has brought back nearly 1,400 Indian citizens from the war-hit Sudan over the past couple of days, since India launched Operation Kaveri last week.

The IAF said that two C-130 J aircraft have evacuated 260 personnel including elders who were above the age of 90. Out of these persons one was aged above 102, it said.

Earlier today, 186 Indians from Sudan arrived in Kochi. "#OperationKaveri continues to bring Indians back home. Flight carrying 186 passengers touches down in Kochi," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.

Officials said that the Indian government is going to evacuate around 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan. So far around 2,500 citizens have been brought back to the country, officials also added.

According to the website of the Indian embassy in Khartoum, there were around 2,800 Indian nationals in Sudan. Along with this, there is also a settled Indian community of around 1,200 people who have been in the country for many years.

Apart from the IAF aircraft, IndiGo is also operating two flights from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah to Delhi and Bengaluru respectively as part of Operation Kaveri.

Sudan has been struck by violence after fighting erupted between soldiers loyal to the Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers commander Mohamed Hamden Daglo. Reports said that nearly 528 people have died in the violence so far and 4,599 have been wounded.