Kochi: Union minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan will reach Jeddah for supervising Operation Kaveri, the central government's mission to bring back Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed Muraleedharan's role in Operation Kaveri while addressing BJP's youth conference 'Yuvam 23' here on Monday.
Modi, addressing a massive crowd at the Yuvam Conclave here, said that a son of Kerala -- Muraleedharan -- would be overseeing the evacuation operation. Murleedharan will land Jeddha on Tuesday morning.
Taking to twitter, Muraleedharan thanked PM for making him a part of Operation Kaveri.
The launch of the Sudan evacuation operation was announced earlier in the day by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. India had on Sunday said it had positioned two transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah and a naval ship INS Sumedha at a key port in Sudan as part of its contingency plans to bring back stranded Indians.
On Friday, the government had said it was focusing on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens presently located across Sudan.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the past 11 days, which has reportedly left more than 400 people dead.
(With PTI inputs)