Last of Indian troops withdrawn
Troops from one platform were withdrawn on 10 April 2024
India and Maldives military
The last of the remaining Indian troops in the Maldives have been withdrawn from the Maldives, according to the government.
Chief Spokesperson at the President’s Office Heena Waleed confirmed this to some media outlets.
It was earlier revealed that the Indian military personnel at the last of the three aviation platforms in the Maldives, would be withdrawn by 10 May 2024.
By March 10, all Indian troops in southernmost Addu City were withdrawn. Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) revealed that all the Indian military personnel stationed in Addu left in different groups.
Troops from one more platform were withdrawn on 10 April 2024.
The government however, did not specify how many soldiers were withdrawn in the last batch.
Speaking to press on May 6, Heena Waleed revealed that 51 soldiers had left by then including the soldiers that were operating the Dornier aircraft and the two helicopters.
She said that an exact number would be disclosed once all of the Indian troops stationed across the Maldives were withdrawn.
The governments of Maldives and India agreed that India would withdraw the military personnel in one of the three aviation platform by 10 March 2024, during the second meeting of the high-level core group between the Maldives and India. The second meeting was held at the Ministry of External Affairs, in New Delhi on 2 February 2024.
During his first-ever presidential address delivered to the public at the inaugural sitting of the first People’s Majlis session of 2024, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced that the governments of India and Maldives agreed to complete the process of withdrawing military personnel by 10 May 2024.
The president noted back then that efforts were underway to evacuate Indian military personnel from the Maldives, and this was being done through dialogue and discussions from both sides, under diplomatic rules.
26 soldiers were sent to Maldives by India to take over the helicopter operations, in February 2023.
Stressing on the need to increase resources for the defence and security of the island nation, the president earlier said that there was a need to enhance the archipelago nation’s capabilities to defend itself by land, sea, and air routes.
The president noted that the biggest pledge he made was to protect the sovereignty and independence of the Maldivian people.
The government released different figures regarding the number of Indian soldiers in the Maldives, on different occasions, several times.
Most recently, the president said that the number of Indian soldiers is still not completely clear and that findings so far indicate that the figure is roughly between 77 – 89.
However, the incumbent administration back when it was the main opposition during Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s rule, claimed that there were more than 1,000 armed Indian troops stationed nationwide.
