Operation Raahat
| Operation Raahat | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Aftermath of the 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état and the Yemeni Crisis | |
INS Sumitra in port at Aden during operation
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| Operational scope | Humanitarian relief |
| Planned by | Indian Armed Forces and the Ministry of External Affairs |
| Commanded by | General V K Singh |
| Objective | Evacuation of Indian citizens from Yemen |
| Date | 1 April 2015 – 11 April 2015 |
| Executed by | Indian Armed Forces and Air India |
| Outcome | More than 5600 people (4640 Indian citizens and 960 foreign nationals) evacuated |
Operation Raahat (Hindi: राहत Rāhata, lit. "Relief") was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies in that country during the Yemeni Crisis. The evacuation by sea started on 1 April 2015 from Aden port. The air evacuation was started by the Indian Air Force and Air India on 3 April 2015 from Sana'a. More than 4640 Indian citizens in Yemen were evacuated along with 960 foreign nationals of 41 countries. The air evaculation ended on 9 April 2015 while the evacuation by sea ended on 11 April 2015.
The 2015 military intervention in Yemen began on March 27, 2015 when the Royal Saudi Air Force led a coalition of Arab states in attacking the Shiite Houthi rebels. This was preceded by weeks of turmoil during which the Houthi guerrillas toppled the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and took over the large parts of the country.
Anticipating further hostilities, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had issued advisories on January 21, 2015 to Indian expatriates in Yemen to leave the country.A second travel advisory urging Indians to avoid travel to Yemen, and to leave the country was issued on February 20, 2015. Finally on March 25, 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. However, more than 5000 Indian citizens had not heeded the warnings and were trapped in Yemen.
As Yemen was not accessible due to a no-fly zone, India chose Djibouti as a centre for initial evacuation by sea. Indians in Yemen were advised to reach Sana'a and Aden. The Indian Navy redeployed the patrol vessel INS Sumitra (P59) from anti-piracy operations off the coast of Lakshadweep to the Yemeni port of Aden. In addition, it dispatched the destroyer INS Mumbai (D62) and frigate INS Tarkash (F50) from Mumbai to provide protection and support to Indian ships and aircraft in the conflict zone. Both sailed 1,350 nautical miles (2,500 km) in four days to reach Yemen. The Indian Air Force deployed two C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft with a capacity of 600 passengers to Djibouti.
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Wikipedia