External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said Operation 'Raahat' conducted for the evacuation of Indian nationals from war-torn Yemen has been a resounding success and well-acknowledged by the international community.
" We not only managed to safely evacuate 4,741 Indians but also 1,947 foreign nationals from 48 countries till 18 April under most difficult circumstances," said Swaraj while making a statement on the Lok Sabha on the 'recent developments in the Republic of Yemen and efforts made for the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from there'.
"We are all aware of the internal turmoil Yemen has witnessed since post-Arab spring protests in 2011. Due to serious differences between Zaidi Shia group of Houthis from Northern Yemen and the federal government led by President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the country has been witnessing political uncertainty and worsening security scenario since September 2014," she added.
Swaraj said the Government of India has kept a regular and close watch on the internal developments in Yemen.
"The deteriorating internal situation in Yemen not only has a direct bearing on the regional security but also on the safety and well-being of our nationals living there. As per estimates from our Embassy in Sana'a, over 4,000 Indians were working in various sectors in Yemen," she said.
Swaraj said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Sana'a in anticipation of a possible deterioration of the security environment in Yemen issued three advisories on 21 January, 19 March and 25 March this year urging our nationals there to leave Yemen voluntarily by available commercial means as it was possible to leave safely.
"At that time, no one paid attention to these advisories and left Yemen. Thereafter, an inter-ministerial team led by a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs visited Yemen from 9-13 March to assess the local security situation and to advise on additional security measures required for the protection of our Embassy officials and other Indian nationals living there," she added.
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The External Affairs Minister further said the government took urgent and necessary steps to ensure security of the Indian nationals and got in touch with the local Yemeni authorities and other governments in the region for their safe and timely evacuation.
"The no-fly zone imposed on the Yemeni airspace and blockade of sea route by the coalition forces made the evacuation exercise a complex and very difficult task," she added.
Swaraj further said that she personally spoke to the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia on March 27 and March 29 and requested for assistance in India's evacuation efforts.
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"On 30 March, Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, had a telephonic conversation with the King of Saudi Arabia, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, during which the King of Saudi Arabia assured him of all necessary assistance," she added.
Swaraj said an inter-ministerial 'Standing Group for Repatriation of Indian nationals from Abroad' under the chairmanship of Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, met on a daily basis since March 26to plan, coordinate and implement the evacuation plans.
"I myself chaired several meetings of this Group from 30 March onwards to review and make effective the plans for evacuation by air and sea route," Swaraj said.
"We established a 24-hour control room and help-lines in the Ministry of External Affairs from 26 March to assist our nationals in Yemen and their concerned family members in India. Similar 24-hour help-lines were established in our Embassy in Sana'a and control room in Djibouti," she added.
Swaraj said that Minister of State for External Affairs General (Retd.) V.K. Singh personally supervised the efforts from the camp office in Djibouti.
"He shuttled between Sana'a and Djibouti sparing no effort to accomplish this difficult task. He was duly assisted by our Ambassador in Ethiopia Shri Sanjay Verma operating from Djibouti. We also deputed 26 officials from the Ministry of External Affairs to Djibouti and Sana'a to strengthen and coordinate our evacuation efforts," she added.
The External Affairs Minister further said that necessary logistical arrangements were put in place in coordination with the Ministries of Home, Defence and Civil Aviation for the evacuation.
"We deployed adequate capacity for evacuation through five naval ships and seven aircrafts," she added.
Swaraj further said India also assisted nationals of Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Canada, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Morocco, Myanmar, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Somalia, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, the UK, Uzbekistan, the US, the UAE, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.
"This received worldwide appreciation," she added.
Swaraj further said, "In view of the worsening security situation in Sana'a and after the successful conclusion of the evacuation process, we have relocated our Embassy to Djibouti on 15 April."
"Our Embassy would continue to operate from Djibouti till situation returns to normalcy in Yemen," she added.