The Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, has confirmed that yesterday four military planes flew from Spain to Djibouti and another two will do so today as part of the operation to evacuate some 80 people, including Spaniards, Europeans and South Americans, who are trapped in sudan. On the other hand, the first ship with 50 citizens from Sudan within the framework of the repatriation that Saudi Arabia has begun arrived this Saturday at the port of the coastal city of Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea, in what is the first civil evacuation that a foreign country makes of the African country in the middle of the conflict.
Speaking to the media after attending a PSOE political event in Coslada (Madrid), Minister Robles acknowledged that the situation in Sudan "is very complicated" due to the war between two military commanders in that country and has assured that the Government It is "very pending" so that at the moment in which the ceasefire is effective and real, the evacuation is carried out.
"We have two planes positioned in a country that is already very close to the area and two more that are moving material. Four planes flew in total yesterday. Two more are going to fly today, but they are going to stay in zone two and we are waiting of the situation," he specified.
Robles has also reported that various materials are being transferred, such as vehicles, in case it is necessary to evacuate by road, as well as personnel from the Army and special operations.
However, the minister has sent a message of calm and has indicated that, although they are aware that not all Spaniards are in the Embassy or in the ambassador's residence, "as soon as there is a possibility we will try to bring them".
"We have brought all the necessary equipment, including special operations, to carry out this evacuation," said Robles, who indicated that they have asked Spain for the possibility of bringing citizens from the European Union.
"The planes are there ready so that the ceasefire is respected immediately, this operation can be carried out, which is not going to be easy because the Sudan airport is closed," so the evacuation would have to be done from a nearby airfield and also from road.
"We have very specialized and prepared teams of people and we are going to try to get it done as soon as possible," he insisted.
Meanwhile, the first ship with 50 citizens from Sudan as part of the repatriation that Saudi Arabia has begun arrived this Saturday at the port of the coastal city of Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea, in what is the first civilian evacuation that a foreign country performs of the African country in the middle of the conflict.
This first ship includes 50 citizens and several other nationalities from "sister countries," said the Saudi state television channel Al Ijbariya, which showed the arrival of the ship and some of the repatriates.
Four more boats are expected to arrive today from Sudan to Jeddah, with 108 people coming from eleven countries, without identifying them.
Saudi Arabia has carried out this repatriation operation through Port Sudan, in the east of the country and located opposite the Arab kingdom, separated only by the Red Sea, which it has reached by land, a path that Jordan will also follow, which will evacuate about 300 of his compatriots, as announced by the Foreign Ministry of the Hashemite kingdom.
The leader of the Sudanese Army, Abdelfatah al Burhan, announced today that "in the next few hours" the evacuation of nationals from countries such as the United States, Great Britain, France and China by air from Khartoum will begin, although these countries have not spoken until the moment.
In the last two days, several countries such as the United States, Japan, Spain and South Korea have announced the deployment of planes to Djibouti, some 1,700 kilometers from the Sudanese capital, from where the evacuation will be coordinated.
At least 413 people have died and 3,551 have been injured in Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict, according to the latest count released yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The fighting that began on April 15 between the Sudanese Army and the FAR arose after weeks of tension over the reform of the security forces in the negotiations to form a new transitional government.
Both forces were the architects of the joint coup that overthrew the transitional government of Sudan in October 2021.
