Britain has drawn up plans to evacuate up to 25,000 British passport holders from Zimbabwe, says a report. According to records in the Irish Embassy in South Africa, there are an estimated 2,000 Irish passport holders also resident in the country.
The British Foreign Office sought to play down the claims, saying that its contingency plans to assist British nationals were a routine part of its work.
But according to the Sunday Telegraph, British Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw last month ordered an emergency planning committee to finalise plans for a mass evacuation after receiving alarming reports of the deteriorating situation.
The evaluation envisaged either a repressive crackdown before the elections or a civil war afterwards if Mr Mugabe uses fraud to cling to power.
Widespread reports from human rights organisations, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and commercial farmers say that thousands of youths have been deployed in rural areas all over the country with orders to drive out the MDC by force.
- Ireland's Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Hugh Swift, is in constant contact with members of the Irish community in the strife-torn country.
Although Ireland does not have a resident mission in Zimbabwe, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Brian Cowen TD has instructed that an officer of the Irish Embassy in South Africa (which is accredited to Zimbabwe) remain in Harare to provide the necessary consular protection for the Irish community there.
It is not known whether the government has formalised contingency plans for an evacuation of Irish citizens in the event of an emergency.
Mr Cowen said "all possible steps will be taken to ensure the safety of our citizens in Zimbabwe."