Number of Irish evacuated from Sudan reaches 122, department says

A total of 122 Irish citizens and family members have evacuated from Sudan since, according to the latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Tánaiste Michael Martin on Thursday said the Government remains “seriously concerned” at the situation in Sudan, which he said was “very volatile and dangerous”.

According to the Department, since April 22nd, 122 Irish citizens and family members have been assisted to leave Khartoum, mainly on flights to Djibouti, Jordan and Cyprus.

Evacuation flights continued on Thursday and registered citizens have been advised of details by Ireland’s Embassy in Nairobi.

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A spokesman for the Department said “due to continued uncertainty about the duration of the current ceasefire, and the generally volatile situation in Sudan, we advise citizens, if they judge it safe to do so, to give serious consideration to evacuation options as they become available”.

“Evacuation operations will only continue for as long as the security situation in Sudan allows,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman added that the Government has approved the extension of the operation of the Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission currently based in Djibouti to Cyprus.

Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, Mr Martin, who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, said it is believed some 100 Irish citizens remain in Sudan. He added that the numbers are “fluid” as some citizens may not have registered with the department while others are “on the move as well”.

The Fianna Fáil leader said since the outbreak of hostilities he had consistently expressed Ireland’s “deep concern” and called on all parties to immediately commit to a ceasefire and allow access for medical and humanitarian assistance.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs has also conveyed to the ambassador of Sudan in Dublin our concern about the safety and security of our citizens,” he said.

“We have emphasised the obligation of the authorities to ensure the protection of all civilians, the provision of humanitarian access and protection of diplomatic personnel.”

Mr Martin said the State has two maritime aircraft that will come on stream in June, which can be reconfigured for strategic airlift capability.

“Its most immediate value would be in getting our own personnel out to the adjacent location, say to Djibouti, more quickly than currently is the case, that would be the first initial value in strategic capability and then to directly evacuate people out as well, working with other countries,” he said.

The Tánaiste said he was also exploring being part of a broader EU approach and that there were some programmes where European countries come together and combine resources in terms of strategic airlift capability.

Mr Martin said he had asked his officials to explore joining such a programme where EU countries come together and purchase aircraft and there is an agreement in terms of utilisation.

“I’ve asked my officials to explore joining such a programme, which would give us access to the utilisation of aircraft in addition to procuring our own strategic capability,” he said.

“I’ve asked for that to be explored and I’m very keen that we would join such a programme for humanitarian purposes and for recreation purposes.”

Mr Martin said last Sunday the Government had approved the deployment of an emergency consular assistance team mission, led by the Department of Foreign Affairs to “augment the ongoing consular support” being provided to Irish citizens in Sudan and assist evacuation operations led by EU member states.

“The team currently based in Djibouti includes officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and 12 members of the Defence Forces,” he added.

“The department is also providing consular support to people evacuated to Djibouti, Jordan, Cyprus and other cities in Europe.”