In order to assess the security situation for Indians who are stranded in Sudan, where conflict between the country’s army and a paramilitary force has claimed over 300 lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level conference on Friday.

S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, and Vinay Kwatra, the secretary of state for foreign affairs, were among those present at the video conferenced meeting with the prime minister.

Along with the ambassadors to Egypt and Riyadh, B S Mubarak, the Indian ambassador to Sudan, attended today’s conference.

At the meeting were Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar.

Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (Consular, Passport, Visa & Overseas Indian Affairs), MEA, also attended the high-level meeting.

Unknown numbers of Indians are reportedly currently stranded in Sudan due to the country’s military and political unrest. Thousands of citizens have escaped Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, as conflict intensified nearby.

Over 350 people, including an Indian, have reportedly died in the conflict to yet.

On April 20, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar met in New York and spoke about the developments in Sudan.

We had a fantastic meeting. Our meeting focused mostly on the situation in Sudan. We also talked about the G20 and the war in the Ukraine, but Sudan was really the main topic, Jaishankar told ANI.

According to Jaishankar, the Indian government keeps in touch with its citizens who are stranded in Sudan.

Our team in Delhi keeps in touch with the Indians in Sudan and gives them advice, telling them to remain composed and avoid taking unwarranted risks despite how tough the situation is for everyone. I’m hoping the work will pay off.

Arindam Bagchi, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of External Affairs, earlier stated that the MEA is in touch with the Indian embassy in Sudan.

“We are keeping a very close eye on this issue and the changing situation there,” Bagchi said.

Through both official and unofficial routes, our mission in Khartoum communicates with the local Indian population. Many advisories have been released by our embassy, he continued.

Fighting has broken out between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who is in charge of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

After the longtime tyrant Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019, a plan for the transition to a civilian democracy was derailed by a coup in 2021 between Sudan’s military leader and his deputy on the ruling council. By the end of 2023, elections were planned.