75 left behind in Kabul as Irish evacuation comes to an end
Minister For Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said they will not leave families behind
Some 75 people with a right to come to Ireland are still stuck in Afghanistan, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
The Irish evacuation mission in Kabul Airport came to an end today as at least 79 people were killed, including children and 13 US troops, in two suicide attacks outside Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.
The Emergency Consular Assistance Team departed after successfully evacuating 26 Irish citizens and residents, but dozens more have been left behind.
In total, 36 Irish citizens or residents have been safely evacuated since the Taliban took hold of Kabul but the Department of Foreign Affairs says in the last 48hrs it has been contacted by "a significant number of additional people requesting assistance."
Speaking to RTÉ's , Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the numbers requiring consular assistance have increased "a lot" in the last few days.
"Our calculations at the moment are that there are 60 Irish citizens and family members, not all family members have Irish passports, but they have a right to come here."
This is in addition to 15 Afghan citizens, who are normally resident in Ireland, he said.
"Unfortunately, all of this has happened at a time when many Afghan families who live in Ireland would choose to go home for holidays because schools are out and this is the time of year when people can actually do that.
"So many unfortunate people have been caught up in what's happened in the last week and we have an obligation to those people, regardless of whether they have Irish passports or not, they are living here, many of them go to school here."
Mr Coveney said that "on a human level" it is a "heartbreaking" situation and he added that other countries such as Finland, Germany and the UK have helped Ireland in getting its citizens out of harms way.
Following an explosion at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) which has reportedly killed at least 60, and wounded 140, the Minister strongly advised people against attending the airport.
"A number of people have been killed, it's a very volatile dangerous situation and we don't want people to be in harm's way."
The Minister added that most countries are now saying their Defence Force personnel will also be leaving "either this evening or tomorrow."
The Minister said he is aware there are many in Ireland today with "deep concerns for family members, friends and colleagues who remain in Afghanistan."
"Along with other countries, our team needed to evacuate due to the deteriorating security situation.
"I can give full assurance that the overall consular effort is continuing and we remain strongly committed to assisting those requiring ongoing consular support in Afghanistan.”
Earlier, a security expert said Irish citizens who had yet to make it to Kabul Airport were unlikely to get out of Afghanistan by the August 31 deadline.
Security and defence analyst, Declan Power, said it is likely contingency plans are being made in case they can not be evacuated in time.
"If they are all at the airport, I would say they probably will get out," he said.
"Anybody who hasn't made it to the airport well that will be another day's work.
"I suspect plans are already underway for, within the European Union context, any citizens who didn't manage to make it to either Kabul or indeed the airport."
Many people are being taken from Afghanistan to Qatar, with refugees housed in accommodation built for the upcoming World Cup.
The country's assistant foreign minister Lolwah al-Khater says they are helping people of all ages.
"We didn't expect this number of babies, kids and pregnant women and we're trying to cope with the situation," she said.
"Everyone was talking about a timeline that would last for weeks or months."
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the administration believes about 1,500 American citizens remain in Afghanistan, 12 days into a massive US military airlift.
The US president has committed to withdrawing American troops from the country by the end of the month.
Mr Blinken said at a news conference that another 4,500 Americans have been evacuated in a US-run, round-the-clock operation since the Taliban reached the capital on August 14.
American officials are in contact with about 500 American citizens to try to get them safely out of the country, the US official said.
Mr Blinken described ongoing efforts to reach the final 1,000 Americans, ahead of the US withdrawal.
“We’re aggressively reaching out to them multiple times a day, through multiple channels of communication, phone, email, text-messaging, to determine whether they still want to leave,” he said.
He said leaving Kabul will not be the end of their work.
"There is no deadline on our work to help any remaining American citizens who decide they want to leave to do so, along with many Afghans who have stood by us over these many years, and want to leave, and have been unable to do so," he said.
"That effort will continue every day."
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