Taoiseach 'deeply concerned' by Afghanistan situation with 'around 20' Irish citizens looking to leave

Taliban fighters stand guard in front of main gate leading to Afghan presidential palace, in Kabul. Picture: AP Photo/Rahmat Gul

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that there are “around 20 Irish citizens” who are looking to leave Afghanistan.

The country has been plunged into conflict in recent months resulting in Taliban forces storming Kabul on Sunday and securing their position at the presidential palace, seeing an end to the Western-led government that had been in place for the past two decades.

Speaking about the Irish nationals in the country, Simon Coveney said: “We’re working with all of them to try and effectively get them on flights out".

He said the process was not an easy one as there are no commercial flights in or out of anywhere in Afghanistan at this moment.

“So we’re working with EU partners to try to get them on military flights," he told Virgin Media News. 

“The EU has been working all day, coordinating between countries, so that military flights that are sent from the EU would not only accommodate the nationals of the country that sponsors the flight, but would also bring other EU nationals out.”

Speaking earlier, to  RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Coveney said that there are 23 Irish citizens in Afghanistan.

It comes as the Taoiseach said that he is “deeply concerned” by the situation in Afghanistan as the Taliban seized power in the country.

Micheál Martin said that the “pace of developments” in the country has “taken many by surprise".

The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency session on Monday on the situation in Afghanistan UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has said the Afghans “have known generations of war and hardship”.

He urged the Taliban to uphold human rights, especially for women and girls.

The Taoiseach said that he "fully endorsed" the call from Mr Guterres "for the Taliban to exercise the utmost restraint".

"Protecting lives, meeting humanitarian needs and respecting people’s human rights are paramount," said Mr Martin.

"All parties, including the Taliban, are obliged to, and must, respect international humanitarian law.

"The international community must play its full part in providing humanitarian aid and facilitating refugees. Ireland will participate fully in these efforts.

"The Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are coordinating our actions."

The Taliban flag flies at the Ghazni provincial governor's house, in Ghazni. Picture: AP Photo/Gulabuddin Amiri

Mr Martin added that the Government is providing support "to the small number of Irish citizens currently in Afghanistan".

"I am in continuous contact with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, and will continue to monitor the situation closely over the coming days."

Mr Guterres told the Security Council meeting: “We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country.

“I am particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan, who fear a return to the darkest days.

“The international community must unite to make sure that Afghanistan is never again used as a platform or safe haven for terrorist organisations.”

Elsewhere, the Islamic militant group Hamas has congratulated the Taliban for the swift takeover of Afghanistan and the end to the United States’ 20-year presence in the country.

In a statement, Hamas welcomed “the defeat of the American occupation on all Afghan land” and praised what it said was the Taliban’s “courageous leadership on this victory, which was the culmination of its long struggle over the past 20 years”.

Hamas, a Palestinian group that opposes Israel’s existence, has governed the Gaza Strip since taking over the area in 2007, a year after it won a Palestinian election.

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US and the European Union.

It wished the people of Afghanistan future success and said the ousting of the US troops proves “that the resistance of the peoples, foremost of which is our struggling Palestinian people, is due for victory”.

China says its embassy remains open in Kabul and expressed a willingness to support its reconstruction.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying did not answer explicitly when asked whether Beijing would recognise the Taliban as the new government but said that China would respect the choice of the Afghan people.

She noted the Taliban pledges to negotiate the establishment of an inclusive Islamic government and to ensure the safety of both Afghans and foreign missions.

Russia will decide whether to recognise the new Taliban government based on its conduct, the Kremlin envoy on Afghanistan said in an interview.

70 people from #Afghanistan have applied for protection in 2020 (up until June).

Afghan applicants are on a 'prioritisation' list, however projected waiting times are currently 19.5 months.

We call on the @DeptJusticeIRL and IPO to proactively recognise Afghan applications. pic.twitter.com/GU5U0aHojK

— Irish Refugee Council (@IrishRefugeeCo) August 16, 2021

Meanwhile, the Irish Refugee Council has called on the Department of Justice to “proactively recognise” Afghan applications for protection.

It said that up until June, 70 people from the had applied for protection in 2020.

“Afghan applicants are on a 'prioritisation' list, however projected waiting times are currently 19.5 months.”

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continue to run medical activities in all five of its projects in Herat, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz and Lashkar Gah.

In a statement issued to the Irish Examiner, MSF says medical projects "are now very busy following the cessation in fighting".

"At Boost hospital in Lashkar Gah, we provided over 600 consultations in the emergency room and helped 45 women to deliver their babies on Saturday alone."

MSF says that they advised its Afghan staff to return home and is temporarily reducing the number of international staff in its coordination office.

An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force takes off early this morning from the Wunstorf airbase in the Hanover region Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Mr Coveney said the Department of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with other EU countries in an effort to find alternative routes for Irish citizens.

The minister also said that Ireland has agreed to waive visas for 45 citizens trying to escape the country, some of whom were already after crossing the border into Pakistan.

Mr Coveney added that a decision has been made to take in an additional 100 to 150 refugees.

“We will be prioritising human rights workers, media workers and women and girls, the vulnerable," he said.

The Minister said he suspected that Ireland would have to do more as “those numbers are very small.”

Thousands of Afghans fearing a return to Taliban rule are trying to flee the country through Kabul’s international airport.

Videos circulating on social media showed hundreds of people racing across the tarmac as US soldiers fired warning shots in the air.

Another showed a crowd pushing and shoving its way up a staircase, trying to board a plane, with some people hanging off the railings.

Desperate situation unfolding at #Kabul airport this morning. https://t.co/JlAWtTHPBy

— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) August 16, 2021

The UN Security Council of which Ireland is a member, will meet in an emergency session in New York today at 10am local time, said Mr Coveney. 

The focus will be humanitarian, to secure a safe exit for foreign nationals and as many Afghans who worked with them.

“It’s about managing a chaotic situation," he said.

"I think we can be pretty sure that we will see hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of refugees trying to flee into neighbouring countries like Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan.

"The UN is going to have to try to coordinate and fund the response to that and certainly, that is where Ireland's focus is."

Mr Coveney added: “This is a foreign policy catastrophe, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in decades.”

US aims to secure Kabul airport

US officials say they are taking steps to secure Kabul’s international airport to enable the safe departure of thousands of US and allied personnel from Afghanistan on civilian and military flights.

The US military has taken over Afghanistan’s airspace as it struggled to manage a chaotic evacuation after the Taliban rolled into the capital and tried to project calm amid widespread fears of unrest.

Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country earlier on Sunday joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signalling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.

US officials say they are taking steps to secure Kabul’s international airport to enable the safe departure of thousands of US and allied personnel from Afghanistan on civilian and military flights Picture: Andrew Harnik/AP

In a joint statement on Sunday night, the State Department and the Pentagon say the US security presence will have expanded to nearly 6,000 troops over the next two days. 

The officials say those leaving include American citizens who have been living in Afghanistan, locally employed staff of the US mission in Kabul and their families, and other particularly vulnerable Afghan nationals.

Also part of the departure plan are thousands of Afghans eligible for US special immigrant visas. Nearly 2,000 of those with special visas have arrived in the United States over the past two weeks.

Taliban fighters take control of the Afghan presidential palace after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Picture: AP Photo/Zabi Karimi

The Taliban fanned out across the capital on Sunday, and an official with the militant group said it would soon announce the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace in Kabul.

That was the name of the country under Taliban rule before the militants were ousted by US-led forces after the 9/11 attacks.

The Taliban’s offensive has led to the displacement of people to the capital Kabul (Rahmat Gul/AP)

A State Department official told The Associated Press that almost all US Embassy personnel have relocated to a facility at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

President Joe Biden and other top US officials were stunned by the pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete takeover of the country, as the planned withdrawal of American forces urgently became a mission to ensure a safe evacuation.

Smoke rises next to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Picture: AP Photo/Rahmat Gul

The speed of the Afghan government’s collapse and the ensuing chaos posed the most serious test of Mr Biden as commander in chief, and he has been the subject of withering criticism from Republicans who said that he had failed.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Taliban and all other parties to exercise the “utmost restraint” in order to protect the lives of Afghans and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the country.