IRISH CITIZENS STILL in Sudan are being urged to clarify information they see on social media and to only follow official advice from the Irish Embassy.
They are also being advised to stay where they are if it is safe to do so, conserve mobile phone power, and register with the Irish Embassy in Kenya, which is accredited to Sudan, if they haven’t already.
Paul Westbury is GOAL’s East Africa Security Advisor and speaking to The Journal, he warned that people in Sudan “have to be aware of what’s going on around you because it can change extremely quickly”.
GOAL is a humanitarian response agency that was established by Dublin sports journalist John O’Shea and four others in 1997.
Westbury’s role with GOAL is to “advise the team on how to do risk assessments and how to assess what’s going on”.
“We have a whole bunch of different training packages that we go through with the staff so they’re prepared for this kind of situation because we work in countries that are post, or current, conflict so we have to be prepared,” said Westbury.
“The plans are in place, they’re written, tried, and tested. This is always reviewed and my job is to ensure that staff are comfortable and aware of what their responsibilities are in these kinds of situations.”
Westbury noted that there have been reports of rumours and misinformation circulating on social media in Sudan and he advised people to only react to official statements.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said: “Citizens should follow the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya on Twitter (@IrlEmbKenya) for updated advice.”
“I’ve seen things claiming that people should go to this location and you’ll be picked up,” explained Westbury, “or go to this embassy and they’re going to get you out.
“Unless it’s an official statement from that embassy or from that organisation, then you shouldn’t take it as fact. You need to clarify it. If you see something, don’t just react to it, check it.
“The number for the Irish Embassy in Kenya is vital for Irish citizens in Sudan to have.”
The Embassy’s main line is +254 2051 353 00, while the emergency consular support number is +254 716 353 999.
Just as vital is power for your mobile phone, so that you can make contact with the Embassy and keep up to date with any changes in advice.
“Mobile signal is there, though it’s been up and down,” said Westbury.
“On Monday, we had major problems up until around 11 in the morning but the government and the Rapid Support Forces are trying to keep those lines open.”
However, electricity supplies are being cut.
“Power is a problem and some of the power stations are damaged,” noted Westbury.
“Those with generators are now starting to run out of fuel, so people in Sudan do need to conserve their phone power as much as possible,” he added.
Any Irish citizen in Sudan who has not already registered with the Irish Embassy in Kenya, which is accredited to Sudan, has been urged to do so.
The link to register with the Irish Embassy in Kenya can be found here.
Updates to contact information should be sent to consular.nairobiem@dfa.ie, or lodged via the embassy main line or emergency consular support number.
In a statement to The Journal, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said they believe over 100 Irish citizens are still in Sudan, with 72 having been evacuated so far to Djibouti, in east Africa, or to Jordan in the Middle East.
At least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 wounded since fighting broke out on 15 April, according to UN agencies.
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.
Speaking to The Journal on the evacuation process, Westbury noted: “The humanitarian community and a lot of the diplomatic services have been part of arranged evacuations. In general, considering numbers, they’ve gone fairly well.
“So those arranged ones have gone as you would expect, they’re pre-planned and people have these in the back of their mind all the time. That includes what GOAL has done with its staff as well.”
Westbury said the next section of people to be evacuated are those who, “for some reason or another, aren’t attached to any large organisation”.
“They may be businesspeople, people visiting the country, they’re the ones that are struggling,” said Westbury, “and that’s mainly because they possibly weren’t aware of the situation before they went into the country and they haven’t registered with the embassies.”
He also warned that it’s “very difficult” to organise for people to be evacuated if they haven’t registered with their Embassy: “If people don’t know you’re there in the first place, it’s very difficult for people to organise those kinds of things.”
However, he added that “most of those” who are not in Sudan with large organisations “now seem to be finding their way”.
The Irish Embassy in Kenya has also advised those still in Sudan to “shelter in place and follow local restrictions unless advised by the Embassy”.
GOAL’s Westbury told The Journal that the organisation has “had conversations with the Irish Embassy in Kenya and they are 100% right in what they’re saying”.
“Where possible, if it’s safe to stay, stay where you are,” advised Westbury, “because we are seeing incidents of people getting caught in crossfire.”
But Westbury added that “the person involved really has to make that decision”.
“If they think it’s safe, then they should stay, but if they feel they have to go, then they have to make a calculated assessment of what they need to do,” said Westbury.
The GOAL East Africa Security Advisor added that there are “some Sudanese, civil society groups that are helping people move out, whether they’re international or Sudanese”.
Westbury noted that the situation is “a bit different for the local population”, but added: “They’re self-motivating and their resilience has been amazing.
“They’re moving themselves out of hotspots where there’s a lot of fighting and they’re managing to get themselves out the majority of the time.
“They have seen some patterns in the fighting, so they seem to work out those patterns and move when it’s a little bit safer.
“They’re moving themselves out of Khartoum and to areas north or south where it’s more safe for them or they have family members. That’s kind of what’s happening on the ground but it is a conflict area now and things change very rapidly.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs told The Journal: “We have to remember that, as we work to bring our citizens and their dependents safely back to Ireland, 45 million Sudanese civilians remain in Sudan.
“The fighting in Khartoum is rapidly causing a humanitarian catastrophe; and this is in addition to an already very fragile humanitarian situation in Sudan, with 12 million people suffering from acute food insecurity and millions dependent on humanitarian aid.”
Up to 12 Defence Forces personnel are involved in the Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission to evacuate Irish citizens from Sudan, which is led by Department of Foreign Affair personnel.
A Department spokesperson told The Journal that “whether, and when, the ECAT will deploy to Sudan will depend on operational and security criteria”.
“The security of the team, and of our citizens and their family members, is paramount,” they added.
The spokesperson also told The Journal evacuation efforts so far have been “part of the ongoing, coordinated evacuation of EU citizens”.
“Joint missions of this nature show the best of our union and we thank our EU partners, in particular France, Sweden, Spain, Germany and The Netherlands, for their ongoing solidarity and support,” added that spokesperson.
However, the French Embassy, which has acted as a rallying point for people trying to leave Sudan, announced on Monday that it is to close.
The French mission in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum will be shut “until further notice”, the French foreign affairs ministry said on Monday.
While GOAL’s Paul Westbury said each Embassy is different, he noted that “some aren’t closing completely” and “they’re taking out what they call non-essential staff and dependents”.
“It’ll be a case by case basis on what embassies and diplomatic missions are doing and I can’t speak for that,” said Westbury.
He added: “However, most times they leave a small body, even if it’s the South Sudanese staff that most of them employ, they’ll leave an operating system somewhere in place.
“It’s rare that there’ll be nothing there at all because they have to go back and reopen it so they need someone there.”
Westbury also advised people to expect long journeys out of the country.
GOAL International staff were part of a recent UN convoy of 70 vehicles that made a 36-hour journey to Port Sudan, which is a port in eastern Sudan.
At least one Irish citizen was also part of this convoy.
“These things aren’t easy,” said Westbury.
“You have to negotiate through roadblocks, make sure that everyone is safe, if a vehicle breaks down, you have to make sure that it’s not left behind.
“You can’t expect drivers to drive for 20-25 hours, they need breaks, otherwise it adds to the risk. All those things contribute to the frustrations and all those things need to be taken into account.
“People have to realise that you’re not going to make this journey in the time you would normally do it. It is going to take three or four times as long to do those journeys if you’re doing it safely.
“The people arranging these convoys, their primary role is to get from A to B as safely as they can so people are safe and secure. We don’t want to take risks with people’s lives.”
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