Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to chair a high-level meeting to review the security of Indians in violence-hit Sudan, sources said.
Violence is on the rise in the North African country due to fighting that erupted between its army and paramilitary forces.
An unspecified number of Indians are said to be stranded in the country amid the military and political crisis.
Thousands of civilians have fled Sudan’s capital Khartoum after fighting escalated in the region.
At least 350 people have been killed in the fighting so far, according to Al Jazeera.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met in New York and spoke about the developments in Sudan.
“We had a very good meeting. Most of our meeting was on the Sudan situation. We also discussed the G20, and Ukraine conflict, but essentially it was about Sudan,” Jaishankar told ANI.
“In Sudan, the UN is trying to establish a ceasefire and that is really key because at the moment, unless there is a ceasefire and unless there are corridors, it’s not safe for people really to come out,” the External Affairs Minister said.
Jaishankar yesterday said that the Indian government is in continuous touch with its citizens stuck in Sudan where fighting has been raging between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The EAM said: “Our team in Delhi is in continuous touch with the Indians in Sudan, advising them, saying we know it’s very difficult for everybody but keep calm and don’t take unnecessary risk. I hope that the efforts will yield something very soon.”
The conflict began since a coup in 2021 between Sudan’s military leader and his deputy on the ruling council erupted derailing a plan for a transition to a civilian democracy after the fall of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Elections were supposed to be held by the end of 2023.
However, according to reports, neither Abdel Fattah al-Burhan nor, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo appeared ready to relinquish power and the power struggle turned violent on April 15.
Violent clashes were witnessed in Sudan since then between the country’s army and a paramilitary group over a proposed timeline for handing over power to a civilian government.
