port sudan

Govt boosts surveillance, readies isolation wards

A rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain has infected an American doctor in the Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting the WHO to declare a public health emergency. The outbreak has spread to Uganda, with health experts citing delayed response due to initial misidentification of the virus. The US is enhancing screening and entry restrictions to prevent further spread.

The UAE sought a joint military response from Gulf nations against Iran after Tehran's attacks, but Saudi Arabia and Qatar refused, citing it as "not their war." This disagreement strained UAE ties with its neighbors and contributed to Abu Dhabi's growing frustration with regional partners.

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched drone attacks on port sudan, targeting the airport, port, and a hotel, marking the second assault this week on the city. The strikes disrupted air traffic and caused fires, highlighting the ongoing conflict's reach beyond Khartoum. These attacks are seen as retaliation for military strikes on RSF's Nyala airport base in South Darfur.

Sudanese paramilitaries launched a drone attack on port sudan, the seat of the army-aligned government, marking the first assault on the city since the two-year war began. The RSF also targeted Kassala airport for the second consecutive day. Flights to and from port sudan, a crucial entry point, have been suspended.

The fifth batch of 297 stranded Indians departed from port sudan for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia by INS Teg on Thursday. "#OperationKaveri INS Teg departs from port sudan with 297 passengers. This is the fifth batch of stranded Indians enroute to Jeddah," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

UN chief Antonio Guterres is "concerned" by reports that Sudanese paramilitaries for the first time struck port sudan, the seat of the army-aligned government during the country's two-year war, a spokesman said Monday. In the conflict's early days, the government relocated from Khartoum to port sudan, which until Sunday had been spared the violence.

port sudan faced a third day of attacks as drones struck the airport, army base, and a fuel depot, causing widespread disruption and power outages. These attacks, blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, have halted air traffic and raised concerns about humanitarian aid delivery.

The first batch of stranded Indians were evacuated from conflict-hit Sudan under Operation Kaveri on Tuesday. A total of 278 people departed from port sudan onboard INS Sumedha for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, said a spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs. India launched 'Operation Kaveri' on Monday to bring back its nationals from Sudan that has been witnessing fierce fighting.

On the first day of ‘Operation Kaveri’, India evacuated 278 citizens from port sudan by INS Sumedha and brought them to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Thursday assured that no Indian will be left behind in conflict-hit Sudan. He, however, admitted that the situation on ground in Sudan remains highly volatile. "Our estimate is that there are approximately 3,500 Indians and 1,000 PIOs in Sudan. The third naval ship- INS Tarkash- has also reached port sudan to evacuate Indians from Sudan," Kwatra said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres is "gravely concerned" over drone attacks on a key Sudanese city sheltering displaced people, warning Wednesday against heightened conflict in the warring country. Guterres is also "alarmed at the expansion of the conflict into an area that has served as a place of refuge for large numbers of people displaced from the capital, Khartoum, and other areas," his spokesman said in the statement.

Egypt has resumed direct commercial flights to Sudan, marking the first such flights since the outbreak of conflict between rival factions in Sudan earlier in the year. EgyptAir operated the inaugural flight to port sudan, signaling a potential return to normalcy. This move follows a meeting between Sudan's Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, the first foreign trip for the Sudanese leader since the conflict began.

Paramilitary drones struck army-held areas of eastern and southern Sudan for a fifth straight day Thursday, army sources said, prompting an exodus of civilians from port sudan, seat of the army-backed government. "The militia launched another drone attack on the Flamingo Naval Base north of port sudan,"on condition of anonymity, referring to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war with the regular army since April 2023.

Amidst fear about safety of Indians stranded in Sudan, caught in a civil war, Indians in Sudan said on Monday that they are safe.

Operation Kaveri, to bring back Indians stranded in conflict-hit Sudan, is underway and 500 citizens have already reached port sudan and INS Sumedha will bring them back home, said external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday.

The government said in a statement it will assess the situation later in the light of further developments.

Marwa Omar was one of hundreds who lined up at dawn to try and get passports in port sudan. Since the authorities inaugurated a new passport office in the eastern city of port sudan in late August, hundreds of people have lined up all day, every day.

War-torn Sudan's army chief returned to port sudan Monday after talks with South Sudan's president in Juba, as the United Nations warned that the number of refugees could double by the end of the year. The early months of the war saw multiple truces brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia being systematically violated, before the two mediators adjourned talks in June.

Describing the situation in Sudan as still very complex and volatile, the government on Thursday said 1,700 to 2,000 Indian citizens had so far been moved out of the conflict zone. The evacuees include people who have already been shifted out of the country and others who are on their way to port sudan from where they would be ferried to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

As per the ministry of external affairs, the eighth, ninth and tenth batches of stranded Indians have left Sudan for Jeddah. the eighth batch of 135 passengers, ninth batch of 326 and tenth batch with 135 passengers left Sudan for Jeddah, tweeted MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi

The government on Monday launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate close to 3,000 Indian citizens stranded in Sudan, the African country that remained on edge because of fierce fighting between the army and a paramilitary force. Foreign minister S Jaishankar said about 500 Indians had reached port sudan and that the government is working to bring them home in ships and aircraft.

As many as 367 passengers arrived at Delhi airport on a special flight from Jeddah under Operation Kaveri, the Saudi port city where they had arrived from port sudan. Sudan is witnessing intense clashes between military and main parliamentary forces. After the flight landed at 9.11pm, many passengers exited chanting “Jai Shri Ram”.