Maldives confirms 76 Indian soldiers replaced by civilians on aviation platforms

India has withdrawn 76 of its soldiers stationed in Maldives to operate helicopters and Dornier aircrafts, and replaced the same number of Indian civilians, Maldives government confirmed Saturday.

The last batch of Indian troops in Maldives left the country last Thursday and the President’s Office held a press conference on Saturday to give information about it.

Speaking at the meeting, Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer said the civilians who replaced the Indian troops were employees of the company that manufactured the helicopters.

"The civilians are employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which manufactured the helicopter," Zameer said.

"This number of personnel is what this operation needs."

Minister Zameer also announced the locations and duration of their stay in Maldives. They will be:

Minister Zameer also responded to question marks whether the civilians were actually Indian soldiers in civilian clothing. 

"The Indian army did not come by deception, right? So, there is no reason why we should not believe the Indian government when it says they are Indian civilians, right?" Zameer asked.

Speaking at the meeting, Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon said the command and control of the platforms has now been given to the Ministry of Defense and the MNDF.

Replying to a journalist's question about the capacity of the Maldivian army to operate the aircrafts, Ghassan said the Maldivian army had started the necessary training but no one has completed the training so far due to various reasons.

The Indian troops withdrew from Maldives in four batches.