An Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission will be deployed to Sudan to assist with the evacuation of Irish citizens and their dependents from the country.
The government said that it remains deeply concerned by the situation in Sudan and officials in Dublin and Nairobi are in contact with over 150 Irish citizens in Sudan.
The Department has also been working actively with international partners to arrange for the evacuation of Irish citizens.
France has been leading on the immediate evacuation from Khartoum of French and other EU citizens.
The operation is highly sensitive given the volatile security situation on the ground.
The government has decided that up to 12 Defence Forces personnel will be deployed initially to Djibouti as part of an Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission led by the Department of Foreign Affairs, in conjunction with the Department of Defence.
The ECAT mission will provide consular and other assistance to Irish citizens and their dependents being evacuated from Sudan.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that the situation in the Sudanese capital Khartoum has got worse in the last few days, and violence is being reported across the city.
“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,” he said.
“The situation on the ground in Sudan remains extremely volatile and I wish the ECAT and Defence Forces team every success in this 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.
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