No Irish person will be abandoned in Afghanistan, pledges Coveney

Members of the UK armed forces leading evacuees past a royal air force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III at Kabul airport. Picture: LPhot Ben Shread/MoD/PA

No Irish citizen or their families will be abandoned in Afghanistan, Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Simon Coveney has pledged.

Mr Coveney said that promise includes those who are not airlifted out of the country before the August 31 deadline for foreign troops to leave Kabul airport. 

As part of a contingency plan to support the evacuation, it is expected the Government jet will be sent to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where it will remain on standby should it be needed to pick up Irish evacuees who are flown out of Afghanistan to nearby countries.

Mr Coveney confirmed that 24 Irish citizens and 12 of their children remain to be evacuated. Most live close to the capital, but one woman is not near Kabul. In total, 10 single Irish people have already been airlifted out of the country, having boarded other countries' military transport flights.

Army ranger wing

An emergency civil assistance team (ECAT), made up of two senior diplomats supported by nine members of the elite army ranger wing (ARW), touched down in Kabul on Tuesday evening on a French military aircraft.

“No-one is going to be abandoned here,” said Mr Coveney.

He added that if any Irish citizens are still left behind when Western military forces withdraw by the supposed deadline, “it will not be the end of the story”. 

“We will continue to stay in contact with all the families” in an effort to get them out one way or another, he said.

Mr Coveney said the Government is working on the evacuation with a number of other governments and their military.

He described the French contribution as “extremely helpful”. 

It is understood the French have promised to bring the ECAT back, but if “an extreme situation” develops, the Government jet, manned by an air corps crew, could be ordered into Kabul to get as many Irish out as quickly as possible.

“The British have also been very helpful in getting some of our people out, they have treated the Irish like their own people. The Germans have also got people out for us,” he said.

American troops are helping as well by getting names of Irish people so they can get them through the security ring they have set up at the airport perimeter.

Mr Coveney said the Government had also been promised assistance from the Belgian and Turkish governments.

Panic-driven crushes

He said the main risk is getting Irish citizens, especially children, through Taliban checkpoints and then past the estimated 10,000 mainly Afghan civilians who have converged on the perimeter of the airport hoping to get flights out of the country. A number have died in panic-driven crushes.

“There is a risk, of course [in getting people out], but I think it's a managed risk. Other countries are taking risks to get their people out and I don't see why Ireland wouldn't do the same,” he said.

While he acknowledged the presence of the ARW on the mission, Mr Coveney said the rescue operation was primarily a diplomatic mission.

He said the ARW would not just provide protection, but would also work with other military encamped at the airport, where they would set up a secure location for the arrival of Irish evacuees, a number of whom have worked for NGOs in Afghanistan.