Tánaiste provides update on Emergency Civil Assistance Team mission
News
27 April 2023The Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin TD, has announced that 122 Irish citizens and their dependents have been evacuated from Sudan thanks to close cooperation with EU and other partners, France, Spain, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Jordan. Some citizens have also made their way overland independently.
It is expected that this number will continue to rise in the coming days.
Since the government decision on Sunday to deploy an Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission, led by the Department of Foreign Affairs, officials and Defence Force personnel on the ground have supported Irish citizens and their family members who have been evacuated through Djibouti, Jordan, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Today, the government has also approved the extension of the operation of the Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission currently based in Djibouti also to Cyprus.
While evacuation flights are still being organised, EU and other partners have signalled that they will be winding down evacuation missions that have previously been landing mainly in Djibouti. The UK are currently operating evacuation flights from Sudan to Cyprus.
The Embassy in Nairobi and the Department of Foreign Affairs are maintaining contact with and advising Irish citizens still in Sudan. Consular teams in the region continue to work with people as they are evacuated, helping to arrange accommodation when needed and supporting and advising and assisting on onward arrangements.
The Tánaiste said: “The ECAT team has proven its flexibility in responding to this volatile and evolving crisis by moving operations swiftly to Cyprus, and I thank them for their continued dedication and support to Irish citizens caught up in this crisis.
“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.
“I would like to thank our EU partners, the UK, Jordan, and in particular the government of Djibouti for their ongoing cooperation in this challenging mission. Our Embassy in Nairobi and the Department of Foreign Affairs are in ongoing contact with Irish citizens in Sudan and will continue to assist and advise them.”
