Govt approves deployment of soldiers to help evacuate Irish citizens from war-torn Sudan

The government has approved the deployment of Defence Forces to assist with evacuating Irish citizens from Sudan. 

The approval was confirmed by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Tánaiste Micheál Martin today (April 23) due to the "extremely volatile" situation in Africa's third largest country. 

Fighting in Sudan between forces loyal to two top generals has put the African nation at risk of collapse, with international governments including the United States racing to evacuate their diplomatic staff and trapped citizens. 

The Irish Embassy in Nairobi and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin are reportedly in ongoing contact with over 150 Irish nationals in Sudan. 

The Department is also working with international partners to arrange for evacuations. 

Up to twelve Defence Forces personnel will be deployed initially to Djibouti as part of an Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission to provide consular and other assistance to those being evacuated. 

The Taoiseach said the situation in Khartoum has "got worse" in the last few days with violence reported across the city. 

He said, "The Irish Defence Forces personnel and Department of Foreign Affairs officers being deployed will make every effort to provide advice and assistance to the 150 or so Irish nationals in Sudan.

"The situation on the ground in Sudan remains extremely volatile and I wish the ECAT and Defence Forces team every success in this mission.” 

The Tánaiste called the mission a continuation of the "substantial, intensive work" of the Department of Foreign Affairs since the outbreak of violence. 

He said, "[Sic] Our primary aim is to offer our citizens every assistance through what has been an extremely difficult and challenging time.” 

Duration of the mission - which will see Departmet officials arriving in Djibouti today - will be dependent on the progress that can be made, the security situation on the ground and decisions on extraction by partners. 

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.