Khartoum, Sudan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held a high-level meeting to review the situation on Indians stuck in violence-hit Sudan.
Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the worsening situation in Sudan with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The government say the situation in Sudan is “very tense” and it is focusing on ensuring the safety and well-being of the Indian community, including working on contingency plans and possible evacuation.
More than 300 people have been killed as the country’s army and paramilitary forces battle, ignoring appeals by world powers for an end-of-Ramadan ceasefire.
Sudan capital Khartoum has seen some of the fiercest fighting with air strikes and tanks firing in densely packed districts, with most of its five million people sheltering at home in baking heat without electricity, food or water. Communications are heavily disrupted.
Medics have warned of a catastrophe, especially in Khartoum, where many hospitals were reportedly caught in the crossfire.
Up to 70 percent of the hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states have been rendered “out of service” by the fighting, the doctors’ union said.
It has warned the death toll is likely to be far higher than stated, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals.
Several countries’ evacuation plans have been put on hold, with the US Defense Department announcing Thursday that it was deploying forces “nearby in the region” with hopes of “securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US Embassy personnel from Sudan”.
