{"id":8194,"date":"2017-01-21T12:57:41","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T12:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=8194"},"modified":"2017-08-11T18:14:04","modified_gmt":"2017-08-11T12:44:04","slug":"sushma-swaraj-announces-evacuation-indians-south-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/india-news\/sushma-swaraj-announces-evacuation-indians-south-sudan\/","title":{"rendered":"Sushma Swaraj announces evacuation of Indians from South Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Escalating violence in the African country evokes government response<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Abu Turab<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Government is planning to evacuate Indian nationals from South Sudan because of escalating violence between the anti- and pro-government forces in that country.\u00a0 There are some 450 Indians engaged in business or in the service sector.<\/p>\n

Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, in one of her tweets on Saturday, said \u201cI am aware of the developments in South Sudan. We are planning evacuation of Indian nationals.\u201d She has asked Indians to register with the Indian Embassy in Juba, the capital of that country.<\/p>\n

According to PTI<\/em>, there are a few hundred Indians in South Sudan. Some of them have set up business in Juba and others are working for various companies. A small number of Indians are also working with Christian missionaries.<\/p>\n

In July last year, Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh led the evacuation of Indian nationals there. Two C-17 military transport aircraft were sent to Juba to evacuate over 300 stranded Indians.<\/p>\n

$\"Map$ <\/a>On August 3, last year, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar while responding to a question in the Lok Sabha said that \u201cno Indian national is stuck in South Sudan. There are around 700 Indians and their number keeps on fluctuating depending on their service conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further elaborated that in order to alleviate the difficulties faced by Indians in South Sudan, the government had launched operation Sankat Mochan<\/em> on 14-15 July, evacuating 153 Indians and two Nepalese citizens. He clarified that \u201cno other Indian is desirous of being evacuated from South Sudan. Normalcy has returned to Juba, with operations of regular commercial flights.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the information provided by the Ministry of External Affairs in July last year, there were around 600 Indians in South Sudan, of them 450 in Juba and 150 in other parts of the country. At that time, some 300 Indians got themselves registered for evacuation, but only 153 turned to board the aircraft.<\/p>\n

South Sudan, the youngest African country, gained independence in 2011 after 98 per cent voted to leave Sudan. Soon after it became independent, civil war broke out between two ethnic groups, Dinka and Nuer, who have been exchanging gunfire almost every day. According to a UN report at least 50,000 have been killed and more than two million have been displaced, while nearly five million are facing severe food shortage.<\/p>\n

Lead picture: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is planning evacuation of Indian nationals from Sudan. Photo: UNI<\/span><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"