AN INDEPENDENT TD has called for an emergency team to be established to evacuate Irish citizens from Sudan.
At least 330 people have been killed and 3,300 wounded in the fighting since it began Saturday, the World Health Organisation said, but the toll is likely to be higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.
The clashes are part of a power struggle between General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, commander of the Sudan armed forces, and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces, a rival paramilitary group.
TD for the Kildare South constituency, and former Army Ranger, Cathal Berry today said it was “time to once again stand up an Irish Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) and commence serious contingency planning for their evacuation”.
He noted that the situation is “deteriorating by the day”.
Berry estimated that there are around 300 Irish people currently in Sudan.
“300 is probably a realistic rule of thumb,” Berry told The Journal.
“Look at the humanitarian workers we have out there, the amount of diplomats and business people and their families as well.
“All Irish citizens in Sudan are encouraged to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs through the embassy in Nairobi in Kenya.
“We will probably get a more accurate figure over the next number of days as people raise their hands to say they’re Irish and register for evacuation.”
In a statement to The Journal, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the Department is “closely monitoring the situation”.
The spokesperson noted that all Irish citizens in Sudan “are being asked to shelter in place, remain indoors and observe local restrictions”.
The Department has also advised all Irish citizens who have not already done so to “urgently register with the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya, which is accredited to Sudan”
The spokesperson said “there are no plans for immediate evacuation given the current levels of insecurity and the closure of Sudanese airspace”.
However, the spokesperson added that “the Department is undertaking contingency planning in close coordination with EU and other partners, to prepare for a range of scenarios”.
They noted that “international efforts to broker a ceasefire and safe humanitarian and civilian access are ongoing”.
A tenuous 24-hour ceasefire ran out this evening, with no word of an extension.
Irish citizens have also been advised to follow the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya on Twitter (@IrlEmbKenya) for updated advice.
However, Berry told The Journal that the Department should not wait for its EU neighbours to act.
While there is a mechanism for the EU to extract EU citizens, Berry said “the best people to extract Irish citizens would be Irish personnel”.
“First of all, it’s a counsellor issue, said Berry.
“The reason you would need the Department of Foreign Affairs would be to use them to verify passports and visa and to make sure we’re getting the people that we’re supposed to be getting.
“To be honest, a lot of the other nationalities would have their own problems on their hands.
“The last thing they want to be doing is looking after other nationalities when they’re too busy looking after their own as well.”
Berry told The Journal that such an Irish effort would involve “a couple of diplomats from the Department of Foreign Affairs, and an Irish military aircraft of some capacity”.
He said it would also include “Defence Force personnel on the ground to provide medical support, transportation security, provide security indications back to Dublin, and to provide liaison to the other militaries.”
“So it really is a multidisciplinary team, it’s public service at its best really,” said Berry.
“And you’re assembling the very best diplomats, the best pilots, best soldiers in the country into one team to produce the goods on a different continent under a stressful environment.”
He added that other “mature nations with mature militaries”, such as the United States, Germany, France, and the Netherlands are “using some of their aircraft already in Jordan with a view to preparing and getting their troops even closer to Sudan so they can respond on short notice”.
“What’s happening on the ground is very unstable, very hostile,” added Berry.
“We’ve seen this movie before, we know how it ends, it ends in an evacuation.
“So rather than scrambling for solutions at the last minute and winging it, we should really be deploying our people in a very organized, very measured fashion and that will reduce the level of risk considerably.”
Berry also noted that there are two recent examples of Irish citizens having been evacuated from countries where there is conflict.
“It’s happened in Kabul in Afghanistan two years ago for the evacuation there,” said Berry.
“And then back in 2011, it was the same story putting Irish citizens out of Libya and they were extracted to Malta. There’s two good, recent precedents there.
“It seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do, most of the other countries are doing something similar.
“We do have an obligation and responsibility to our citizens, regardless of where they are in the world, and we should be planning accordingly.”
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