New Delhi, June 17 India Tuesday said it views the situation in Iraq as “high priority” and is coordinating with Iraq’s ambassador on the possibility of evacuating Indians from cities seized by Sunni insurgents.
“The situation in Iraq is high priority for the Indian government. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is herself monitoring and reviewing the situation,” ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
The minister has told Anil Wadhwa, the Secretary (East) in the ministry, to chair a crisis meeting.
“He (Wadhwa) is in touch with the Iraqi ambassador (Ahmad Tahsin Ahmad Berwari) in Delhi to discuss the possibility of providing ground level help (to evacuate Indians),” the spokesman said.
Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have taken over key Iraqi cities including Mosul and Tikrit, threatening the future of Iraq.
A total of 46 Indian nurses, mostly from Kerala, and 41 construction workers are stranded in Tikrit and Mosul respectively.