Press release
Tánaiste provides update on Sudan consular response
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
The Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, has announced that as of this morning, 209 citizens and dependents have now been assisted to depart from Sudan. The majority of those evacuated by air in recent days have been carried on flights operated by the UK into Cyprus. The government is grateful for the support of the UK and the Republic of Cyprus during this period.
The Tánaiste furthermore announced the withdrawal from Cyprus of the Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission which has been based in that country since Thursday 27 April. The mission involved Defence Forces personnel, in support of Department of Foreign Affairs officials, to assist with the process of evacuating Irish citizens and their dependents from the crisis in Sudan. In line with changed operational requirements since the ending of flights from Sudan into Cyprus, the ECAT element of our consular response will conclude today – 30 April.
Ireland will maintain an enhanced multi-location consular presence in support of citizens remaining in Sudan. Consular assistance will continue to be provided on an ongoing basis from our consular teams in Dublin, Nairobi, Cairo, Amman, Riyadh and Addis Ababa. Our Embassies remain in close and ongoing contact with any citizens in Sudan who have requested assistance.
The Tánaiste said:
"I wish to thank the ECAT team and all those involved in our consular response.
"Our primary aim has been to offer our citizens every assistance through what has been an extremely difficult and challenging time.
"Our experienced consular teams in Dublin and in the region will continue to actively respond to the needs of our citizens as the situation evolves.
"I would like to thank our EU partners, the UK, Jordan, Norway and Djibouti for their strong cooperation in this challenging mission."
Citizens should follow the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya on Twitter (@IrlEmbKenya) for updated advice. If urgent, the Embassy's out of hours consular assistance phone line can be contacted at +254 716 353 999, and the Department of Foreign Affairs can be contacted at +353 1 408 2000.