Operation Raahat
Operation Raahat | |
---|---|
Part of the INS Sumitra in port at Aden during operation | |
Operational scope | Humanitarian relief |
Planned by | Indian Armed Forces and Ministry of External Affairs |
Commanded by | General V. K. Singh (Retired) |
Objective | Evacuation of Indian citizens from Yemen |
Date | 1 April 2015[1] | – 11 April 2015
Executed by | Indian Armed Forces and Air India |
Outcome | 5,600 people (4,640 Indian nationals and 960 foreign nationals) evacuated[1][2] |
Operation Raahat (
Background
The 2015 military intervention in
Anticipating further hostilities, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had issued advisories on 21 January 2015 to Indian expatriates in Yemen to leave the country.[7] A second travel advisory urging Indians to avoid travel to Yemen, and to leave the country was issued on 20 February 2015.[8][9] Finally on 25 March, two days before the attack by the Arab coalition, the MEA issued an urgent advisory urging all Indian citizens to evacuate as soon as possible.[10] However, more than 5000 Indian citizens had not heeded the warnings and were trapped in Yemen.
Response
As Yemen was not accessible by air due to a
Two
On 1 April 2015, INS Sumitra reached Aden to evacuate 349 Indians. When Air India was permitted to fly to Yemen on 3 April 2015, it began evacuating people from Sana'a to Djibouti and Djibouti to Mumbai or Kochi. Two C-17 Globemasters flew nine sorties to Mumbai and two to Kochi from Djibouti. On 4 April 2015, INS Mumbai reached Aden but was unable to dock due to shelling, so the people were ferried to the ship in small boats.[11]
Over the days more than 4,640 overseas Indians were evacuated along with 960 foreign nationals from more than 41 countries.
The following table gives details of evacuations carried out by the Indian Navy, but does not include air evacuations:[22]
Date of evacuation | Port of evacuation | Ship | Arrival at Djibouti | Evacuees | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indians | Foreigners | Total | ||||
31 March | Aden | Sumitra | 1 April | 349 | 0 | 349 |
2 April | Al Hudaydah | Sumitra | 3 April | 306 | 11 | 317 |
4 April | Aden | Mumbai |
4 April | 265 | 176 | 441 |
5 April | Ash Shihr |
Sumitra | 5 April | 182 | 21 | 203 |
6 April | Al Hudaydah | Mumbai | 6 April | 463 | 11 | 474 |
7 April | Al Hudaydah | Tarkash |
8 April | 54 | 20 | 74 |
9 April | Al Hudaydah | Sumitra | 10 April | 46 | 303 | 349 |
10 April | Aden | Tarkash | 11 April | 42 | 422 | 464 |
15 April | Al Hudaydah | Sumitra | 16 April | 76 | 327 | 403 |
Total | 1783 | 1291 | 3074 |
INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash returned to Mumbai harbour on 16 and 18 April 2015, respectively, after completing Operation Raahat.
MV Kavaratti and MV Corals arrived in Kochi on 18 April. The ships had helped evacuate 475 passengers including 73 Indians, 337 Bangladeshis, and 65 Yemeni citizens of Indian origin.[23]
Published accounts
Documentaries
Operation Raahat: Yemen Rescue Operation by India (Battle Ops) (2018) is a
See also
- Evacuation of Pakistani citizens during the Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- India–Yemen relations
References
- ^ a b c d "India evacuates 4,640 nationals, 960 others from Yemen". www.oneindia.com. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ a b c Kumar, Hari (10 April 2015). "India Concludes Evacuation of Its Citizens From Yemen". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "India begins evacuating citizens". The Hindu. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "1000 nationals from 41 countries: India's Yemen evacuation finally ends and the world is floored". Firstpost. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ a b "India appreciates Pakistan's gesture of evacuating its nationals from Yemen". The Times of India. 8 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Airstrike on Yemen refugee camp could portend Saudi ground incursion". CNN. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Travel Advisory for Indian Nationals travelling to Yemen". mea.gov.in. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ "Ministry of External Affairs releases advisory against travelling to Yemen". Yahoo! News. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Helpline of Indian Embassy in Yemen and travel advisory". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 20 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Leave strife-torn Yemen, India tells its citizens". The Hindu. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ a b c "Explained: How India evacuated 5000 stranded in Yemen". The Indian Express. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- First Post. 31 March 2015. Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "New Delhi will send two ships to Yemen to evacuate stranded Indians". The Times of India. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "Delhi sends 2 ships to conflict-hit Yemen to evacuate Indians". The Times of India. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ Oman, Times of (7 April 2015). "Salalah transit for Indian rescue flight from Yemen". Times of Oman. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ a b "India evacuates 232 foreigners including Americans, Europeans from Yemen". The Times of India. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- Prague Post & The Voice of Prague. 7 April 2015. Archivedfrom the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Yemen crisis: Number of Indian evacuees reach 4000 mark". Zee News. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "4,000 Indians rescued so far, Yemen air evacuation op to end on Wed". hindustantimes.com. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "India Pulls Off Great Escape in Yemen, 4000 Evacuated From War Zone". NDTV. 8 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Yemen: India ends Operation 'Rahat', 200 refuse to leave". Sify. 11 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "IN Ships return to Hero's Welcome". indiannavy.nic.in. Indian Navy. 18 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "MV Kavararatti and MV Corals arrive at Kochi". indiannavy.nic.in. Indian Navy. 18 April 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "This R-Day, get ready for Discovery channel's 'Battle Ops'". The Hindu. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Operation Raahat Yemen Rescue Operation by India, Battle Ops". Veer by Discovery. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
External links
- Media related to Operation Raahat at Wikimedia Commons