NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has spoken to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and mulled over  the evolving situation in Sudan, as India stepped up efforts to evacuate its stranded citizens from Sudan

 EAM  Jaishankar, who arrived in Bogota in Colombia’s capital from Panama, on April 24, announced the launch of the mission ‘Operation Kaveri’ to bring back the stranded Indians from Sudan.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that his government has started a massive-scale evacuation effort to help British nationals leave Sudan.

"The government has started evacuating British citizens with passports from Sudan on large-scale RAF planes. Families with children and the elderly would receive priority, Sunak said in tweet.

Jaishankar took to Twitter to share picturs of the Indian evacuees after their arrival at the Delhi airport. "India welcomes its citizens back. As the first aeroplane lands in New Delhi, Operation Kaveri returns 360 Indian citizens to their country of origin, he tweeted. "Operation Kaveri advances further. Another 136 Indian citizens have been relocated to Jeddah for their protection. They will return shortly, said in multile tweet.

India has deployed another ship, INS Tarkash, said  Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, to remove its stuck person from Sudan. Today, the INS Tarkash is docked at Port Sudan, Kwatra continued.

At least 670 Indian residents have been evacuated from Sudan by Ondia, and the organisation is attempting to save more of its compatriots from the war-torn African country before the precarious cease-fire between the regular army and a paramilitary group expires.

The Sudanese army and a paramilitary group have been engaged in deadly combat for the past 12 days; it is estimated that 400 people have died in total.

Following lengthy negotiations, a 72-hour cease-fire between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces was reached, prompting India to step up its attempts to remove the Indians from Sudan.

India has established a transit hub in Jeddah, and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan is in charge of organising the city's evacuation.

Jaishankar is visiting Guyana, Panama, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic for nine days. This is his first journey abroad as the external affairs minister to the Caribbean and Latin American regions.

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