India’s operation in strife-torn Iraq is fast taking the shape of a full-scale evacuation of all its citizens, Indian state run media reported on Tuesday.
Evacuation is being carried out not only from Sunni-controlled troubled areas, but also from Shia-dominated areas that are relatively peaceful, indicating that New Delhi now believes that the situation in Iraq is fast spinning out of control.
This week, the Indian government will help over 600 Indians to leave their workplaces and jobs and fly back to India. Many of these people do not have their papers in order. The Indian Embassy is quickly putting their documents in place and planning to put these Indians on commercial flights from Baghdad and other Iraqi cities from where flights are still taking off.
Two ships have been sent to Iraq to evacuate stranded Indians. It is reliably learnt that cargo ships have also been sent to Basra to carry Indians to the nearest safe port from where Indian Air Force (IAF) or Air India planes will carry them back home.
With Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) declaring the establishment of a caliphate, it is predicted that the Sunni-Shia battle will get more bitter.
Meanwhile, it is believed that the 40 kidnapped Indians are being used as captive labour by the ISIS.
Describing the transportation of Indians back home as a “proactive approach”, MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin told journalists that Indian diplomats are seeking out Indian nationals at their homes and places of work in Iraq to deliver the message that they should leave while the going is good and the airports are still open.
The MEA has despatched over 25 officials to the key Iraq cities outside the conflict zone to facilitate the repatriation of Indian workers.
With Air India, military transport aircraft and naval vessels on standby, India is, for the time being, making use of the commercial flights that are still operating from Iraq’s main cities, Najaf, Karbala, Basra and Baghdad.