The first group of Indians who landed in Delhi from Sudan Wednesday evening has horror stories to tell of the conflict that practically broke out in their own backyard 11 days ago.
The 360 Indians were picked by a Navy ship and IAF C130J plane of Operation Kaveri from Port Sudan as the 72-hour ceasefire was declared between the warring generals to help evacuate foreign nationals.
Many of the Indians who landed Wednesday appeared traumatised, having repeatedly seen neighbouring houses bombed, missiles flying overhead and people being robbed at gunpoint for 10 long days.
One of them was Jyoti Agarwal, whose husband worked as a Chartered Accountant in Khartoum. The family -- including her son and 10-year-old daughter -- has managed to reach Delhi in one piece, leaving behind everything they had.
"We just brought two sets of clothes for my son and daughter. We did not bring my clothes, or my husband's," Mrs Agarawal said, emphatically declaring that she would not go back again.
"I have seen a house two lanes down getting destroyed by bombs. I have seen our office workers held at gunpoint. There is no saying what might happen at any moment. You can die any time. We did not know whether one of us would die or all of us," she told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
The family just managed to escape with their lives. "We did not even bring any money with us. Because we could have been robbed by the rival army and could have even been killed," she said.
Even her 10-year-old daughter Ariana was not spared the horror. "We were taking an exam in school when there were loud noises. We did not know what it was and later were told that it was gunshots and bombing. We were taken to the canteen and told to hide under tables," she said.
It was a harrowing time, she said, especially as her parents were also unable to come and get her. One was in office and the other at home.
Anil Kumar, who went to Sudan nine months ago from Garhwal, said the worst part was reading about the deaths every day. His friend said they were robbed of all their belongings at gunpoint.
Vipin Kumar, a crane operator, said their guesthouse was attacked. "We put pressure on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and they finally moved us from there," he told NDTV.
Violence broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglom, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Since mid-April, more than 450 people have been killed and over 4,000 injured, the World Health Organisation has said. There have been reports of violence even amid a 72-hour ceasefire.
The evacuation comes days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Saudi Arabia counterpart. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meet to review the security situation.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/7GIHtXo
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