The last Spaniards who have stepped on Kabul, the contingent he has dedicated all the hours of this week to evacuations of civilians in the Afghan capital, is in Spain. At 19.25 hours of this afternoon of Thursday they have landed at the Military Base of Torrejón, after contributing to a historical humanitarian work: the rescue of thousands of Afghans after the return to the power of the Taliban.
They have been those responsible for taking those who flee from the return to the power of Islamic conservative radicalism. They have achieved it with 2,206 people, most of them collaborators of the Spanish army for two decades of military presence in Afghanistan and their families. Many women and many children. It has not been possible to bring everyone but now a second phase is opened in which the US and NATO will seek how to continue with the evacuations, although this suggests negotiating with the Taliban.
The Spanish mission has been received by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, El de Foreign, José Manuel Albares, El de Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska and the immigration, José Luis Escrivá, on foot of ladder. After they dropped everything, already on the track, Sánchez and the rest of the executive members, the staff of the plane has given them a long applause.
Since August 19, when the first 53 refugees arrived, in Spain they have landed 11 flights. Today, until the international community finds way of continuing with this humanitarian mission, the last one with 195 people has arrived on board.
Among them 82 Spanish soldiers; The ambassador in Afghanistan, Gabriel Ferrán; the 'number two' of him, Paula Sánchez, and two more people from the Embassy; 20 members of the National Police Body (13 GEO and 7 of the Police Intervention Unit); 85 Afghan collaborators, 16 with Spain, 50 of NATO and 19 of Portugal), and four Portuguese military that have been uploaded at the last moment to the plane.
A circumstance that shows that has been an operation with important elements of unpredictability, open at all times. They have left Kabul in two military aircraft that have landed in Dubai at 6:45 am in the first and at 7:20 the second. There they have rested a few hours until an Air Europa plane has brought them to Madrid. They have made the same path as the thousands of Afghans who have rescued.
For safety reasons, the Government has not reported Kabul's departure from the Spanish contingent until they were already in Dubai. But yesterday the return of the operation was expected as imminent, after the two attacks and that other countries confirm their march.
In any case, the return would not have been delayed many hours more because the deadline set by the USA to leave the airport expired on August 31 and the Biden Administration had transmitted to the Allies that needed to have exclusively the facilities for their own operation, evacuate Its soldiers and all their material.
Only the flight staff of the two military devices that will return to Spain on Sunday will remain in Arab Emirates, in their case of the Military Airport of Zaragoza.
The Government and, fundamentally the Ministry of Defense and outdoor, has contained breathing these days so that there were no Spanish victims in Kabul's "hell". It has been a risky operation as they confirm the two attacks yesterday in the vicinity of the airport. A fight against time to save the greatest number of people as possible from despair.
Date Of Update: 27 August 2021, 14:05
