THE NUMBER of Irish people needing evacuation out of Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of the country has risen to 33, according to Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.
It's understood that there are eight children among those in need of evacuation, and Mr Coveney insisted that his department was working with authorities in the UK, the US and other EU nations to facilitate their rescue.
"The number of Irish citizens looking to leave Afghanistan has increased slightly over the last 24 hours," Coveney said on Wednesday morning.
"It's now 33 people - 25 adults and eight dependents.
"We are working with other EU countries, as you would expect, to secure places for them on military flights and that hopefully will be facilitated in the coming days out of Kabul Airport."
Shots ring out behind @clarissaward - as she stands less than 200 yards from the entrance of the Kabul airport.
"It's definitely chaotic, she says. "It's definitely dangerous." pic.twitter.com/3iNgULO0fO— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) August 18, 2021
Mr Coveney added that the situation at the airport was still "quite chaotic", and that it wasn't easy to simply fly planes in and out of the Afghan capital to evacuate people, and insisted that Ireland would be relying largely on the US to provide "safe passage" for its citizens.
Thousands of Afghans flocked to the airport on Sunday attempting to flee the country after the Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday.
Their arrival - facilitated by the withdrawal of western troops in the region - sparked the immediate collapse of the government, and the Taliban are now unofficially in charge of the country.
Despite the chaos, the Islamist militant organisation have declared peace and say they will allow "safe passage" to anyone looking to escape the country from Kabul airport, according to US President Joe Biden's national security adviser.
