THREE MORE IRISH people have been evacuated from Afghanistan, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed.

The department said today that a total of six Irish citizens have now left the country.

35 Irish citizens and their dependants are currently seeking to leave Afghanistan.

“In collaboration with European and other partners, we hope to facilitate further evacuations in the coming days. The situation remains fluid and access to the airport remains extremely difficult,” a spokesperson said.

“There are also a small number of Irish citizens who are working for UN and international organisations and currently plan to stay in Afghanistan.”

Aoife MacManus, an Irish woman who managed to escape from Afghanistan, is one of those who have already been evacuated.

Speaking today, she described how the Taliban escorted her to Kabul airport where “thousands of Afghan people” were also trying to leave.

“It was quite a scene. I’m still hearing all the gunshots from outside the airport of people trying to push their way in from somewhere else and the gunshots would have been into the air to control the crowd,” she said. 

MacManus is now in Islamabad in Pakistan, and said she plans to return to Ireland on Sunday or Monday.

“I don’t think it’s helpful for me to reveal how she got out or where she is, because we are trying to get as many other people out as possible,” Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney told RTE radio yesterday.

“The process is slow and fluid, in terms of circumstances changing all the time,” he said.