349 Indians evacuated to Djibouti

Altogether 349 Indians reached Djibouti on Wednesday after being evacuated from Aden in strife- torn Yemen on an Indian warship and will be brought back to India by an Indian Air Force plane Wednesday night, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said. MoS external affairs Gen. V. K. Singh ( Retd) also reached Djibouti to oversee the evacuation. Sources said Indian warship INS

Sumitra entered Aden harbour amid heavy firing nearby. A few foreigners were also evacuated by the Navy.

Some foreigners from Asian countries near India were also reportedly evacuated by the Indian Navy on humanitarian grounds to Djibouti

As many as 349 Indians on Wednesday reached Djibouti after being evacuated from Aden, the port city of strife- torn Yemen, on an Indian Navy vessel, and will be brought back to India by the Indian Air Force aircraft on Wednesday night, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said.

Meanwhile, minister of state for external affairs Gen. V. K. Singh ( Retd) also reached Djibouti in Africa to oversee the evacuation operation launched by the government to rescue over 4,000 nationals in Yemen.

Sources said the Indian naval vessel INS Sumitra entered Aden harbour amid heavy firing nearby.

“Indian nationals evacuated from Aden by Indian Navy have reached Djibouti. They will be brought back to India by Indian Air Force today. One plane will land in Kochi and the other in Mumbai late this evening. My colleague General V. K. Singh is coordinating the operations with the Indian Navy and Air Force in Djibouti,” Ms Swaraj tweeted.

Out of 349 evacuees, 206 belong to Kerala, 40 are from Tamil Nadu, 31 from Maharashtra, 23 from West Bengal and 22 from Delhi besides other states, the spokesperson in the external affairs ministry said. Some foreigners from Asian countries near India were also reportedly evacuated by the Indian Navy on humanitarian grounds to Djibouti, sources said.

Sources added that a few of the Indians who were evacuated to Djibouti were also reluctant to return to India immediately as they were seeking a livelihood in Yemen and were hoping that the situation there stabilises.

According to news agency reports, INS Sumitra on Wednesday left Djibouti for al Hodeidah, a port on the west coast of Yemen, as part of “Operation Raahat”. The Indians were evacuated late last night by INS Sumitra , which was diverted from its anti- piracy patrol in the region. It had earlier waited for hours to get local clearances as heavy fighting was reported in the city. Indian Navy ships INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash have also been pressed into evacuation efforts named “Operation Raahat”.