Against the backdrop of the sharply deteriorating situation and the spike in Shia-Sunni conflict in Iraq, India is exploring all options to evacuate over 87 Indians stranded in worst-hit Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit and has sent its special envoy to the crisis-hit Gulf nation.
New Delhi has sent Suresh Reddy, a former envoy to Iraq, to Baghdad June 18 to bolster the Indian Mission there which is trying to help the Indians in violence-affected areas.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is monitoring the situation closely and has instructed officials to do everything possible to ensure the safe release of 46 nurses kidnapped by a Sunni militant group.
Mr Anil Wadhwa, secretary (east) in India’s external affairs ministry, met Iraq’s ambassador to India Ahmad Tahsin Ahmad Berwari June 17 and discussed the prospects of ground-level cooperation to evacuate Indian nations from the energy-rich Gulf state.
India’s ambassador in Baghdad Ajay Kumar has been in regular touch with Indians living in the Gulf nation, home to over 10,000 Indians. The Indian embassy in Baghdad has set up a 24-hour helpline to help out Indians in distress.
There are 46 Indian nurses stranded in Tikrit – most of them are from Kerala – and 41 construction workers are reported to be marooned in Mosul.
The embassy of India in Baghdad is providing us updated reports on their updated contacts with the Indian nationals in the affected areas, said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, in New Delhi.
Iraqi government forces are battling the militants belonging to Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a breakaway faction of al-Qaeda, who have made major advances in the last week. Reportedly, 44 prisoners have been killed at a police station in the city of Baquba which was claimed by the rebels briefly.
The festering violence in Iraq, which has shut down a major oil refinery in that country, is bad news for India as the conflict may plunge the entire region into prolonged turmoil. The Gulf region accounts for over 70 per cent of India’s oil imports and is home to 7-million strong Indian diaspora, who contribute around $40 billion in annual remittances.
“The Government of India is deeply concerned with deteriorating security situation in Iraq, resulting out of recent attacks and taking over of some cities, including of Mosul and Tikrit by terrorist outfits since 8 June 2014, which is a direct threat to the security and territorial integrity of Iraq,” said Syed Akbaruddin.
“The Government of India strongly condemns such attacks and firmly stands by the Government and the people of Iraq in their fight against international terrorism and in their efforts to preserve the unity and territorial integrity of the friendly country of Iraq,” he said.
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