The Government of India has launched “Operation Raahat“, a massive air and sea operation to evacuate over 4000 Indian nationals from Yemen. The operation will involve five ships and four aircraft. Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh headed for Djibouti, Yemen’s neighbor country, to oversee the evacuation exercise. INS Sumitra was diverted from its anti-piracy mission in Gulf of Aden to rescue Indian citizens in the port city of Aden. Air India has stationed two 180-seater Airbus A320 planes in Muscat for evacuation of Indians from Yemen’s capital Sanaa to Djibouti.
Other than INS Sumitra, Destroyer INS Mumbai, stealth frigate INS Tarkash, and two merchant vessels – Kavaratti and Coral – have been dispatched for the rescue operation. The Indian Air Force has deployed two C-17 Globemaster planes for Yemen operations. This is the fourth major evacuation which the Indian government has undertaken. The first three were in Ukraine, Iraq and Libya.
Knowledge is Wealth
- Saudi Arabia and 10 other countries have launched a military operation against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who drove out the Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
- The Houthis are the followers of the Shia Zaidi sect and are officially known as Ansarallah (The Supporter of God).
- Currently The Houthis control the Yemeni capital Sana’a and the Parliament.
- The logo of Houthi states “God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam“
- The strength of Houthi Rebels is more than one hundred thousand.
