The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received yesterday, at the Torrejón Air Base (Madrid), a Spanish Air Force plane with 72 passengers on board (34 Spaniards and 11 other nationalities, mainly European and Latin American) from Sudan.
“It is a happy moment and a moment of relief because we have been able to successfully complete the evacuation of those Spaniards who wanted to participate in this device,” Albares declared from the base. “I have been able to greet representatives of the Embassies of many of the countries coming here, from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Portugal and Poland, from all those nationalities that have also had the solidarity of Spain,” he added.
“Above all, I was able to give a big hug to the ambassador,” Isidro Antonio González Afonso, who traveled with the rest of the Spaniards, Albares continued. “I want to underline the excellent role played by the Spanish Embassy in Khartoum, its ambassador and the Spanish Armed Forces, and I was also able to pass the phone so that His Majesty the King could congratulate our ambassador for this device,” concluded the minister, who was accompanied by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau; the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Luis Manuel Cuesta; and the Chief of Defense Staff (JEMAD), Admiral Teodoro Esteban López Calderón.
Through his official Twitter account, the minister yesterday again disseminated the consular emergency telephone number (34 91 000 12 49) and reiterated Spain’s request in favor of the cessation of violence and the return to dialogue. “Spain remains committed to Sudan,” he added.
For her part, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, said yesterday that she was “very proud” of the intervention of the Spanish Armed Forces in this operation. “It has been a magnificent role of the Spanish Armed Forces, not only the evacuation that has been made of Spanish citizens, but of other countries of both the European Union and Latin America, which has highlighted the commitment of Spain always at any time, when its citizens are in a situation of risk,” she said in London after meeting with the Secretary of Defense of the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace.
Robles also highlighted the work of the ambassador and the diplomatic corps in Sudan, as well as the joint work of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs and the efforts of the Air and Space Army with the dispatch of five aircraft “that have flown under risky conditions”. The Minister especially valued the members of the Parachute Brigade and the Special Operations Team, “who have done an essential and fundamental work in such a difficult and complicated context, where there was a great risk to human lives”. “Hopefully the situation in Sudan will soon be resolved and we will soon be able to return to tranquility,” the Minister added.
As reported by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the evacuees left Khartoum shortly before eleven o’clock Sunday night for Djibouti, in a joint operation of the two Ministries, whose heads, José Manuel Albares and Margarita Robles, remained in contact throughout the day to ensure the success of the evacuation. In addition to Spaniards and Sudanese, passengers of eight other nationalities were on board: Portuguese, Italians, Poles, Irish, Mexicans, Venezuelans, Colombians and Argentinians.
Another group of Spaniards decided, voluntarily, to remain in Sudan or to leave by other means, while others had already managed to leave the country before the implementation of this measure. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish colony is composed of about 60 people.
The transfer operation from the Spanish Embassy in Khartoum was carried out without any incident thanks to a security device to guarantee the integrity of the transfer for the members of the convoy, the two Ministries assured in a joint press release. The Spanish Armed Forces operation consisted of four Air and Space Army planes, which flew between Djibouti and Spain to transport all the military material and personnel involved in the operation, which was carried out from Khartoum airport. For this purpose, about 200 military personnel from the Spanish Army and Air Force were involved in the operation. Likewise, from Djibouti, support was provided by the Orion Detachment personnel, which became the advanced base for the deployment of the Operation for the evacuation of Spanish civilian personnel in Sudan after the outbreak of the armed conflict.
Since April 15, Sudan has been suffering armed clashes between the Sudanese Army and a paramilitary group called Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have already caused hundreds of deaths. For this reason, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended “not to travel to Sudan under any circumstances” and has urged “all Spaniards who are in the country” to stay in their homes or accommodation, to avoid any travel abroad and, in case of emergency, to contact the Embassy through the consular emergency telephone number +:249 912 36 33 77.
