Lok Sabha Question No. 3959 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-23
Subject: Rescue Operations by India
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: P.R. SUNDARAM

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3959 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.12.2015

## RESCUE OPERATIONS BY INDIA

3959. SHRI P.R. SUNDARAM:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)     whether  the  numbers  of  Indians  being  trapped  in  various countries particularly in war torn countries, are on the rise and if  so, the details thereof, country-wise along with the number of Indians still trapped in these countries as on date;
- (b) the number of rescue missions led by India for the evacuation of Indians and others during the past one year and the current year  along  with  the  number  of  people  saved  through  such operations, country-wise and the response of the other countries in this regard;
- (c) whether the Government has taken/is taking effective steps in consultation with countries for the safe evacuation of the rest of the persons trapped/held captive in these countries; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  success  achieved  in  this regard, so far?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

(a) to (d) The Government of India regularly and closely monitors the evolving security situation in the Middle East, including in Iraq, Libya  and  Yemen,  which  had  substantial  Indian  communities.  The safety and security of our nationals in these countries is a matter of foremost  concern  for  us.  The  Government  has  made  extensive efforts  to  enable  the  evacuation  of  Indian  nationals  from  waraffected countries, as per details given below:

Our  Embassy  in  Baghdad  has  facilitated  the  return  of  over 7,000 Indian nationals to India till date, by providing them assistance with travel documents, immigration and departure facilities and air tickets.  The Government had setup special camp offices  in  Erbil,  Najaf,  Karbala  and  Basra,  to  facilitate  efficient evacuation.  We  have  established  24  hour  helplines  to  assist  our nationals in Iraq and their concerned family members in India. The Mission is in close and regular contact with the Iraqi Government to ensure the safety and security of the remaining Indian nationals in Iraq.  A  group  of  39  Indian  nationals  working  in  a  construction company  in  Mosul  continue  to  be held captive by ISIS.  The Government is making every effort to secure their release. 3,600 Indians have been evacuated from Libya so far. These evacuations  were  facilitated  through  land,  air  and  sea,  with  the assistance  of  countries  neighbouring  Libya.  An  estimated  2,000 Indians still remain in Libya. We keep a close watch on the situation in Libya and our Mission continues to make efforts to persuade the

remaining Indian nationals to return to India.

The Government conducted Operation 'Raahat' in March-April 2015 for the evacuation of Indian nationals from Yemen. This was acknowledged  as a successful operation by the international community. Under this operation, we evacuated 6,710 persons from Yemen,  including  4,748  Indians  and  1,962  foreign  nationals.  The Hon'ble Minister of External Affairs regularly reviewed the arrangements  made  in  this  regard.  An  inter-ministerial  'Standing Group for Repatriation of Indian Nationals from Abroad' was setup under the chairmanship of Secretary(East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, to coordinate  and  implement  the  evacuation  plans  in cooperation with the Ministries of Home, Defence, Shipping and Civil Aviation. We established a 24 hour control room and helplines in the Ministry of External Affairs. Similar helplines were also set up in our Embassy in Sana'a and a camp office was established at Djibouti. I personally travelled to Djibouti to supervise these efforts from this camp office. We also received the help of Indian railways and the concerned State  Governments  to  provide  hospitality  and  transport for Indians arriving from Yemen in Mumbai and Kochi, all the way up to their home towns. We continue to monitor the internal developments in Yemen.

The Government continues to keep a close watch on developments in these countries, issue advisories whenever required and engage the authorities in these countries to enable the safe evacuation of Indian nationals.

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