Sixteen Irish citizens evacuated from Afghanistan

Sixteen additional Irish citizens and their dependents have been successfully evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan.

The 10 citizens and six dependents arrived in Doha in Qatar late on Wednesday on a specially organised flight.

It brings to 104 the number of Irish citizens evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban took over last month.

The 16 were met by a consular team in Doha who are assessing their needs before they travel on to Ireland.

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Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said: "This is testament to our teams, in our embassy in Abu Dhabi, in the region and in Dublin, who have worked tirelessly through diplomatic channels to assist people to leave Afghanistan.

“I would like to thank the government of Qatar for their continued assistance on these flights.”

A small number of Irish citizens and their dependents still remain in Afghanistan.

“We will continue to work with our key partners to secure their safe passage out of Afghanistan,” he said.

Earlier this month, 15 citizens and 10 dependents travelled from Kabul to Doha on a specially organised flight with the support of Qatar.

Irish officials have been working to evacuate Irish citizens in Afghanistan since the collapse of the Afghan government and the takeover by the Taliban in August.