Members of the Irish mission deployed to Cyprus to help co-ordinate the safe passage of Irish citizens and their dependents from Sudan are withdrawing today.
The Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT), involving Defence Forces personnel, in support of Department of Foreign Affairs officials, was deployed on Thursday
The withdrawal - co-inciding with the ending of flights from Sudan into Cyprus - was announced by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.
He said Ireland would maintain an enhanced multi-location presence in support of citizens remaining in Sudan through consular missions including those in Egypt, Kenya and Jordan.
209 Irish citizens and their dependents have been assisted in being given safe passage out of Sudan.
In a statement, Mr Martin thanked the ECAT "and all those involved in our consular response".
The mission involved Defence Forces personnel, in support of Department of Foreign Affairs officials, to assist with the process of evacuating Irish citizens and their dependents from the crisis in Sudan.
The Tánaiste said; "our primary aim has been to offer our citizens every assistance through what has been an extremely difficult and challenging time.
"Our experienced consular teams in Dublin and in the region will continue to actively respond to the needs of our citizens as the situation evolves.
"I would like to thank our EU partners, the UK, Jordan, Norway and Djibouti for their strong co-operation in this challenging mission."
The statement went on to say that "in line with changed operational requirements since the ending of flights from Sudan into Cyprus, the ECAT element of our consular response will conclude today – 30 April."
The Defence Forces issued a statement confirming the withdrawal of the Army Rangers who were part of "Operation Piccolo".
They had been in Djibouti and Cyprus and had assisted the Department of Foreign Affairs in the processing and evacuation of identified Irish citizens and dependents. The team were also on standby to provide medical assistance if required, the statement said.
For any Irish citizens still in Sudan, consular assistance will continue to be provided on an ongoing basis from consular teams in Dublin, Nairobi, Cairo, Amman, Riyadh and Addis Ababa.
Embassies remain in close and ongoing contact with any citizens in Sudan who have requested assistance, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The department advised citizens to follow the Embassy of Ireland in Kenya on Twitter (@IrlEmbKenya) for updated advice.
If urgent, the Embassy's out of hours consular assistance phone line can be contacted at +254 716 353 999, and the Department of Foreign Affairs can be contacted at +353 1 408 2000.
It comes as the first plane laden with humanitarian aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross landed in Sudan's capital city.
