Independent TD and former Army ranger Dr Cathal Berry TD has called on the Government to start contingency planning for the evacuation of Irish citizens from Sudan.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Dr Berry said the situation in Sudan was unstable and seemed to be deteriorating.
The State has a concept called Ecat – the Emergency Civil Assistance Team – which had been used successfully in Kabul and Libya, he said. “I would say we just have to commence contingency planning immediately and stand up these teams that can plan accordingly.”
Such planning would involve assembling “Ireland’s very best pilots, our very best soldiers and very best diplomats into one room, to look at options in relation to how they’re physically going to get to Sudan, how they’re going to organise and assemble the civilians that need to be evacuated, how they are going to extract them back to Ireland”.
Ireland would need to work with other countries, which was where the military function comes in, he said.
“The Defence Force’s role will be the Air Corps would fly our troops to a friendly airport, probably in Europe, because we only have small aircraft in the Air Corps in Baldonnel. But the military role would be liaison. It would be to secure communications back to Dublin, it would be medical support if required, and then providing close protection security as well. It’s a multidisciplinary team and it’s worked very, very well in the past,” Dr Berry said.
The air assets of France, Germany and the US were “pre-positioned”, so the Irish Ecat team should be assembled to “pre-position our people” in France or Germany or further south, Dr Berry said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is closely monitoring the situation in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan since the outbreak of violence on April 15th. All Irish citizens in Sudan are being asked to shelter in place, remain indoors and observe local restrictions, a representative said.
Irish citizens who have not already done so should register with the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya (which is accredited to Sudan).
The embassy is in regular contact with those who have registered, the department said, and while there are “no plans for immediate evacuation given the current levels of insecurity and the closure of Sudanese air space, the department is undertaking contingency planning in close co-ordination with EU and other partners, to prepare for a range of scenarios”.
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 can be contacted at 00254 716 353 999, and the Department of Foreign Affairs can be contacted at 00353 1 408 2000.
