During the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen during the Yemeni Crisis, the Indian Armed Forces conducted Operation Raahat to evacuate Indian citizens and international nationals from Yemen. On 1 April 2015, the port of Aden saw the start of the maritime evacuation. The Indian Air Force and Air India began the air evacuation from Sana'a on April 3, 2015. Along with 960 foreign people from 41 different countries, more than 4,640 Indian residents living in Yemen were evacuated. On April 9, 2015, the evacuation by air came to an end. On April 11, 2015, the evacuation by water came to an end.
The Royal Saudi Air Force led a coalition of Arab nations in targeting the Shiite Houthi rebels on March 27, 2015, marking the start of the 2015 military intervention in Yemen. This was preceded by weeks of unrest in which the Houthi insurgents overthrew President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi's administration and seized control of major portions of the nation.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has warned Indian expats in Yemen to evacuate the country on January 21, 2015, in anticipation of further hostilities. On February 20, 2015, a second travel warning was released advising Indians to stay away from Yemen and to leave the nation. Finally, the MEA issued an immediate advise on March 25, two days before the Arab coalition attack, encouraging all Indian people to leave as soon as possible. However, more than 5000 Indian people were stranded in Yemen because they had disregarded the warnings.
Yemen was inaccessible by air due to a no-fly zone, therefore India decided to base the initial marine evacuation at Djibouti. It was urged for Indians in Yemen to travel to Sana'a and Aden. The patrol boat INS Sumitra (P59) of the Indian Navy was transferred from anti-piracy operations off the coast of Lakshadweep to the Yemeni port of Aden. Additionally, it sent the frigate INS Tarkash (F50) and destroyer INS Mumbai (D62) from Mumbai to the war zone to help and defend Indian aircraft and ships. To reach Yemen, both sailors travelled 1,350 nautical miles (2,500 km; 1,550 mi) in four days. Two C-17 Globemaster cargo planes with a 600 passenger capacity were sent by the Indian Air Force to Djibouti.
The Lakshadweep government sent two ferries with a combined passenger capacity of 1,500 to Aden: MV Kavaratti and MV Corals. Additionally, two Air India Airbus A320 planes were sent to Muscat in the adjacent Sultanate of Oman.
The INS Sumitra arrived at Aden on April 1 to transport 349 Indians. On April 3, 2015, Air India was given permission to fly to Yemen, and it immediately started transporting passengers from Sana'a to Djibouti and Djibouti to Mumbai or Kochi. From Djibouti, two C-17 Globemasters made nine flights to Mumbai and two to Kochi. The INS Mumbai arrived at Aden on April 4, 2015, but was not able to dock due to bombardment, therefore the passengers were transported in small boats to the ship.
Over the course of the days, 960 foreign people from more than 41 nations and more than 4,640 overseas Indians were evacuated. Some of them turned to India for assistance since they lacked the operational capacity to conduct a rescue operation. These countries included: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Maldives, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Slovenia, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, Thailand, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Out of a total of 5,600 persons, 1,670 Indians and 2,900 Indians were evacuated by Indian Navy ships from four ports and 18 special aircraft from Sana'a, respectively. On April 8, 2015, the Pakistan Navy frigate PNS Aslat rescued 11 Indians from Mukalla and transported them by air to India through Karachi. The evacuation by air and water came to a conclusion on April 9, 2015, and April 11, 2015, respectively. For different reasons, 200 Indians refused to leave Yemen.
All images for illustration purposes only.
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