India started ‘Operation Indravati’ on March 21 to bring back its citizens from Haiti, where things are really bad. S Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, said this on X.
Haiti, a country in the Caribbean, is facing a lot of trouble. Armed gangs have taken over the streets, and the government seems to have vanished.
As part of the ongoing mission, 12 Indian citizens were brought back safely on Thursday. Jaishankar, in a statement on X, said that India is dedicated to keeping its citizens safe and thanked the Dominican Republic government for their help.
Jaishankar posted on his official X handle, saying, “India starts Operation Indravati to bring back its people from Haiti to the Dominican Republic. 12 Indians rescued today. We are fully committed to keeping our citizens safe abroad. Thanks to the Dominican Republic government for their support.”
During a press briefing on March 15, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said that India is prepared to bring back its citizens from Haiti if required. He mentioned that there are approximately 75 to 90 Indians in Haiti, and around 60 of them have informed Indian authorities about their willingness to return to India if necessary.
Haiti is facing a serious crisis as violence linked to gang conflicts escalates, leading to a state of emergency. The United States has evacuated non-essential embassy personnel, and the Haitian government has declared a state of emergency in response to the situation.
On March 12, Prime Minister Ariel Henry quit because of the worsening crisis. Gangs were attacking airports, police stations, and prisons, causing many prisoners to escape. This chaos made many people leave their homes, adding to the already big problem of people being forced to move because of gang violence.
According to the UN, gangs rule over 80% of Haiti’s capital, and there are still fights happening in the rest of the city.
To deal with the violence and danger in Haiti, a special room and hotline were set up to help Indian people leave the country safely.
“We’ve set up a control room at the Ministry of External Affairs along with emergency hotlines,” Jaiswal mentioned during the press conference.