54 Indians evacuated from S Sudan |
The first Indian Air Force flight C-17 carrying 156 people, who were evacuated from war-torn South Sudan`s capital city Juba, arrived Thiruvananthapuram early on July 15. The evacuees also included two Nepali citizens, besides nine women and three children.The passengers from Kerala and some from Tamil Nadu disembarked after a brief halt here before leaving for Dellhi. Minister of state for external affairs V K Singh, who is leading the government`s `Operation Sankat Mochan` to evacuate Indians from the African country, told reporters at the airport that 156 persons have been evacuated, of whom two are from Nepal. There are over 550 Indians at Juba and another 150 in areas where the oil wells are located. There were 30-40 people who had already booked their tickets when the commercial flights started and 300 people did not want to be evacuated due to their business concerns and other activities. There are 9 women and three children among those evacuated.The evacuation exercise faced a hurdle when several Indians, after registering with the external affairs ministry for leaving South Sudan, refused to return, despite an appeal by External affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter asking them to move out. South Sudan is witnessing heavy fighting between former rebels and government soldiers in several parts of the city.
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