Spain has military planes ready to evacuate Spaniards from Sudan as soon as there is an opportunity

Together with her German counterpart, Albares demands a ceasefire that allows evacuations and sends aid to the country

BERLIN, 21 (from the special envoy of EUROPA PRESS, Leyre Guijo)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has indicated that the Government has military planes ready to proceed with the evacuation of the Spaniards who are in Sudan once the conditions for it are met. Likewise, he has advanced that they are trying to concentrate them all in the Embassy with a view to their eventual exfiltration.

At a press conference in Berlin together with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, both called on the opposing parties, the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to accept a ceasefire that allows both evacuation of foreigners from the country as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid that the population needs.

"We have everything ready", indicated the minister, who specified that "there are Army military planes pre-positioned so that, when the conditions are met and they can land" in Khartoum, proceed with the evacuation, something that right now still It is not possible, and he is in constant contact with the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, about it.

As specified, about 60 Spaniards would be evacuated as well as another twenty people, including European citizens and Latin American countries that have requested it.

To facilitate this process once there is a "window of opportunity", the regrouping of the Spaniards at the Embassy is already underway, which has been restocked in the last few hours, as has the ambassador's residence, and to reinforce security around to them. "Conditions are difficult," he admitted, stressing that fighting continues and Khartoum airport is closed.

"As soon as we have the opportunity, our military planes will enter Sudan and evacuate our colony," stressed the minister, who has reported that in fact a Spaniard who was on board a ship off the coast of Sudan has already managed to be evacuated to another country.

Likewise, it has once again asked those Spaniards who could be in the country and have not registered with the Embassy or their relatives to contact the Ministry to transfer their situation with a view to eventual evacuation.

The minister has defended that the "completely sterile violence" that began last Saturday "has to stop", a message that Baerbock has also repeated. "The situation is dramatic and in practice the population has been trapped since the fighting broke out," he stressed, stressing that "crossing the gate poses a risk of death."

"We demand that the two responsible generals end the senseless violence, cease fire, allow evacuations and that the population receive the humanitarian aid it needs," he demanded, addressing the head of the Army, Abdelfatá al Burhan, and the commander of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias 'Hemedti'.

In this sense, he has encouraged both to resolve the conflict through negotiation "instead of reducing Sudan to rubble." The German minister, like Albares, has supported the mediation efforts being carried out by different actors, such as the African Union, IGAD or the UN with a view to achieving a 72-hour ceasefire on the occasion of the end of Ramadan this weekend. of week.