Luis Ayllón
The Spanish government is keeping its embassy in Afghanistan open and has no plans to evacuate its staff, despite the advance of the Taliban. In fact, the new ambassador in Kabul, Ricardo Losa, appointed a few days ago, plans to take up his post in the middle of next week, The Diploamt has learned from diplomatic sources.
Other countries such as the United States have announced that they will be downsizing their embassy in Kabul in the coming weeks, according to CBS. In addition, the US has asked its citizens to leave the country.
In Spain, the Foreign Ministry recommended that Spaniards in Afghanistan “leave as soon as possible using the commercial flights currently available” and that if they choose to stay, they should keep in touch with the embassy in Kabul.
Gabriel Ferrán is still at the head of the diplomatic representation in the Afghan capital. He was the ambassador until the 4th, when his resignation was published in the Official State Gazette, along with the appointment of his replacement. The Foreign Ministry has asked Ferran to remain in the post until his replacement is appointed. He is joined by the second-in-command and security forces personnel, while the rest are local Afghan workers.
The same sources pointed out that the Embassy has a contingency and evacuation plan that is being updated according to events and that it could be activated if necessary, something that is not being considered at the moment.
The security of the Spanish Embassy in Kabul was reinforced after it was the target of an attack perpetrated by the Taliban in December 2015, in which ten people were killed, including two members of the National Police Corps who were protecting the diplomatic representation.
Meanwhile, the Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs and the Interior continued yesterday to finalise the plan to bring back to Spain the Afghans who acted as interpreters for the Spanish troops stationed in Afghanistan.
The sources consulted indicated that an assessment was being made of which individuals and which of their families would benefit from the plan and how the trip to Spain could take place.
