Irish citizens should avoid all non-essential travel to Egypt in light of the escalating violence in the restive Middle Eastern state, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“Due to ongoing civil unrest, Irish citizens are advised to avoid non-essential travel to Egypt, with the exception of the Red Sea resorts,” a statement on the department’s website said.
“Early this morning (14 August) the clearance, by the Egyptian authorities, of Raba’a Al-Adawiya and Nahda Squares began and this has resulted in increasing civil unrest in Cairo and other cities,” the statement ran.
“Our Embassy in Cairo is monitoring the situation.”
It noted protests continue to be held in Cairo and other cities, especially on Fridays.
“Protests and demonstrations can turn violent, often without warning, and there have been cases where this violence has resulted in large numbers of deaths and injuries.
“We strongly advise Irish citizens who are currently in Egypt to exercise extreme caution, to avoid all protests and demonstrations and to monitor this travel advice and the local media for updates on the situation.”
The advice stated that if citizens were caught up in a demonstration, they should not attempt to take photographs and should leave the area immediately. “Irish citizens may wish to assess their need to remain in the affected areas at this time.”
The department noted that recent months had seen a number of security incidents in Sinai, some of them involving tourists.
“Unofficial roadblocks have caused inconvenience on tourist routes and in a number of incidents, tourists have been taken from their transport and held for several days before being released.
“We advise citizens to exercise extreme caution when travelling outside the main resort areas in the Sinai and to seek the advice of their tour operators before undertaking excursions, as well as advising hotels of any travel outside the resort.
“We strongly advise against all travel to Northern Sinai where the security situation is particularly unstable.”