Sudan evacuation: ‘It was a nightmare. These are Irish citizens’

An Irish doctor who was born in Sudan has told of the frantic weekend she spent waiting for word of her father who was visiting Sudan.

More than a week ago fighting broke out in the northeast African country between Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group, following months of growing tensions.

Dr Aia Mohamed told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that although her father was now safe in Djibouti, she knew of other Irish citizens who were trapped in Khartoum and were making desperate efforts to get out.

Her father, who is an obstetrician in Castlebar, had been visiting family for Ramadan and had been due to fly home on Saturday evening. However, as the conflict escalated and the airport was bombed there was great uncertainty about how he would get back to Ireland.

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Dr Mohamed said she had been in constant contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs and was told on Sunday at 8am that her father should make his way to the French embassy for evacuation.

This required passing through some of the dangerous parts of the city, but he managed to get there, Dr Mohamed said. However, once there were 180 people in the embassy the doors closed and people were locked out, she added.

“It was a nightmare. These are Irish citizens, they are all children of Ireland.” Some were advised to go to the Spanish ambassador’s residence but they did not know where it was, she said.

“These people are there in the most precarious of positions”, she said, adding they should have been allowed into the embassy until there were more details of where to go next.

[ Who are the rival forces fighting for control in Sudan? ]

Dr Mohamed also spoke of another Irish citizen, a psychiatrist who was visiting family in Sudan for Ramadan with her two children, aged one and 11.

They fled Khartoum and went to a rural part where they could not be contacted about evacuation measures. It was her understanding the family were now trying to get out of Sudan by road.

About 50 Irish citizens have been evacuated from Sudan so far, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said.

Commenting on evacuations, Mr Martin said on Monday: “The situation is fluid, but 50 [Irish citizens] have been evacuated so far and more to come. A consular team from Foreign Affairs have been on the ground in Djibouti since yesterday,” he said.

“Obviously this has to be done safely and we have to protect all of our citizens,” he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

Mr Martin said the “majority” of the cohort had been evacuated by France, with other Irish citizens escaping the country in a Spanish operation that saw around 100 people evacuated from the capital Khartoum on Sunday.