Evacuation of Irish citizens from Sudan has begun confirms the Tánaiste

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has confirmed that so far 50 Irish citizens have been evacuated from Sudan.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, earlier, Mr Martin explained that France and Spain had performed ‘remarkable’ evacuations in assisting Irish citizens.

Discussing the fluidity of the situation, Mr Martin also said that so far around 150 citizens had registered indicating that they were in need of assistance.

Irish citizens who are still in Sudan are being advised to keep track of the Irish embassy Twitter account in nearby Kenya and to remain indoors and safe until further instructions are provided by the Irish team on ground.

:It will take some days", the Tánaiste has cautioned.

A consular team from the Department of Foreign Affairs has been in Djibouti since yesterday.

Efforts will be made to support Irish families with Sudanese relatives, the Tánaiste also assured.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs explained that "The security of the team, and of our citizens and their family members, is paramount."

"We have to remember that, as we work to bring our citizens and their dependents safely back to Ireland, 45 million Sudanese civilians remain in Sudan.”

"The fighting in Khartoum is rapidly causing a humanitarian catastrophe and this is in addition to an already very fragile humanitarian situation in Sudan, with 12 million people suffering from acute food insecurity and millions dependent on humanitarian aid."

We continue to closely monitor the situation in Sudan & are in contact with Irish citizens, whose safety remains our priority.  The situation remains volatile & our advice to citizens remains to shelter in place & follow local restrictions unless advised by Embassy. 1/2

— Embassy of Ireland (@IrlEmbKenya) April 24, 2023

This morning, the Spanish government gave confirmation of the presence of Irish citizens amongst the 100 that were evacuated from Sudan last night. In a statement the country’s department of foreign affairs said a military aircraft carrying evacuees left Sudan's capital Khartoum and landed in Dijibouti, without incident.

Yesterday evening, the Irish Defence Forces personnel left for Sudan as part of their ECAT (Emergency Civil Assistance Team) mission. It has been confirmed that Members of the Army Ranger Wing will be involved in the operation.

Following the rapidly-changing situation on the ground, the Department of Foreign Affairs have advised Irish citizens still in Sudan not to travel to the French embassy since it has closed and is no longer a gathering site for evacuation.

With several using Djibouti as an initial transit point, countries like the UK, US, France and Germany have also begun their evacuation efforts.

Fighting initially broke out on April 15th between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's forces and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following a dispute surrounding the intended integration of the RSF into the country’s regular army.

The World Health Organisation have so far confirmed at least 420 dead and 3,700 injured. The bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed that over 1,000 European Union citizens were evacuated over the course of the weekend.

"It has been a complex operation and it has been a successful operation," Mr Borrell said.

Meanwhile, British citizens still trapped in Sudan have spoken of feeling "abandoned" by the government as the UK Foreign Secretary warned that the ability to assist remains "severely limited" until a ceasefire is reached.

Secretary James Cleverly has been subject to questions about why British diplomats had been prioritised over other UK citizens after a night-time evacuation mission took place to rescue embassy staff as the war rages on.

UK nationals still trapped, who were advised to register their presence with the Foreign Office and remain safe and indoors, have begun seeking private evacuations as the prospect of help remains uncertain.

According to RTÉ, former member of the Irish Defence Forces, Independent TD Cathal Berry, has reported that the lead team of the Irish Defence Forces should have arrived now in Djibouti.

Statement on situation in Sudan. pic.twitter.com/rPKBHR0bsW

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) April 23, 2023

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland of the lead team, Mr Berry said, "There'll be a couple of paramedics on the team. Also secure communications back to Dublin, that is the frequency-hopping encrypted radio sets, also liaison on the ground.”

"Then there'll be an intervention element. So an intervention element could link up with a foreign helicopter for instance, or an aircraft and fly into Sudan, link up with Irish citizens on the ground and rescue them."

Describing the situation in Sudan as very dangerous and unstable, he added that the country is “heading for a full civil war."