The Indian Navy is expected to evacuate Indian nationals from Aden, the port town of strife-torn Yemen, on Tuesday as its warship INS Sumitra has reached there. There are more than 500-600 Indians stranded there and the ship cannot enter the harbor due to heavy firing and is awaiting local clearance for moving in as do two Air India planes.
Four more ships, including two warships, are also expected to reach Yemen by April 4 or 5 under the ‘Operation Raahat’ launched by the Indian Government, Defence sources said here on Tuesday, adding that there are more than 3,500 Indians waiting to be brought out from other provinces of Yemen including Sana’a. They also said more than 50 per cent of Indians are women who are employed as nurses there.
Elaborating upon the plan, they said INS Sumitra, now anchored about 10 nautical miles off Aden will evacuate the Indians and bring them to Djibouti which is about two hours of sailing time from Aden. These people will then be either flown to India or brought in ships. Incidentally, INS Sumitra was on anti-piracy patrolling duty in Gulf of Aden when the strife got serious and the Government diverted it to Aden for rescue effort.
Besides INS Sumitra, two warships INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash were also dispatched from Mumbai on Monday besides two merchant vessels Kavaratti and Corals from Kochi. The four ships are to join each other in Arabian Sea on April 2 and proceed as a composite group to Djibouti. The three warships are well equipped for rescue efforts and have helicopters as integral part of their inventory for various kinds of operations.
The two 180-seater aircraft of Air India are now based in Muscat but cannot enter Yemen due to want of clearance from the authorities. These planes are expected to pick up Indian nationals from Sana’a and bring them to Djibouti for onward journey to Mumbai and Kochi. The Government has placed two C-17 huge transport planes on standby in India for airlifting Indians if need be, they said.
Concerned over the safety of 4,000 Indians in strife-torn Yemen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night sought the help of Saudi Arabia as he held a telephonic conversation with King Salman bin Abdul aziz Al Saud.