Report from Independent Ireland
By Ralph Riegel
April 21 2023 03:08 PM - full copy
Plans to evacuate Irish citizens as civil war escalates in Sudan
THE Government is planning to evacuate all Irish citizens from war-torn Sudan once it is safe to do so.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government was monitoring the escalating civil strife in Sudan very carefully but refused to discuss evacuation plans of Irish citizens for reasons of operational security.
Ireland is understood to be working with other EU countries to extract citizens once there is a lull in the fighting around Khartoum.
Sudan has descended into civil war amid a violent power struggle between the army and a heavily armed paramilitary group.
Heavy fighting has erupted in major population centres across the country - with shelling and missile strikes around Khartoum Airport.
All civilians have been urged to stay indoors and remain safely sheltered until the fighting eases.
A Sudan-based Irish diplomat, Aidan O'Hara (58), who is also serving as EU Ambassador, was violently assaulted earlier this week after a robbery at his residence as security chaos spread across the country.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin strongly condemned the attack and warned Sudan it was responsible for the safety of all diplomats in the country.
Mr O'Hara was confronted by armed robbers dressed in military fatigues and assaulted during the confrontation.
Miraculously, he escaped serious injury and is now said to be recovering and "in good shape."
The incident is understood to have been a robbery of opportunity and not a deliberate attack on the Irish diplomat.
The Taoiseach said Ireland was now working very closely with its allies to ensure the safety of its citizens in the vast African country.
Ireland has a significant number of citizens based in Sudan - many of whom are based there because of aid agency work.
"We have some work ongoing at the moment - that is being coordinated by the Tánaiste (Micheál Martin), the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Defence," Mr Varadkar said.
"I am not at liberty to say too much about it."
"But we are aware that there are quite a number of Irish citizens in Sudan and we have a responsibility to our citizens around the world to ensure their safety as best we can. Some work has been done."
The German military had planned an airlift of its nationals from Sudan three days ago but had to cancel it amid safety concerns over heavy fighting around airfields in Khartoum.
Germany has around 150 citizens in Sudan and decided to cancel the Luftwaffe evacuation because of heavy fighting near airfields as repeated efforts to broker a local ceasefire failed.
Both factions fighting in Sudan have access to heavy weaponry - and any airlift without a firm ceasefire was considered too high a risk.
Ireland is now understood to be liaising with allies within the EU about an evacuation.
Irish nationals are expected to be extracted via an effort led by Germany, France, the US or the Nordic bloc countries.
The elite Army Ranger Wing may be offered to assist with any evacuation of EU nationals from Sudan.
However, Ireland does not have a heavy air-lift capacity to extract citizens from Sudan.
View original: https://www.independent.ie/news/plans-to-evacuate-irish-citizens-as-civil-war-escalates-in-sudan-42443337.html
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