Around eleven o’clock this Sunday night, the Foreign Affairs Minister received a call from the Spanish ambassador to Sudan. The officer reported, “We are all at the base. Everything went very well. There are 70 people. There were many military checks, but everything went without incident.” Isidro Gonzalez spoke with José Manuel Albares as the head of the diplomatic mission navigated a tense moment on the ground.
After days of heightened strain, Spain managed to complete the delicate operation of evacuating dozens of Spaniards from Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, which had been engulfed in fierce clashes between military groups that left hundreds of civilians killed. diplomatic sources noted moments of extreme pressure in the foreign crisis cell set up at the Palacio de Viana in Madrid, especially when news reached that one group evacuated by France had been shot. The situation could have deteriorated rapidly, but it did not. King Felipe VI personally congratulated the ambassador on the successful arrival in Madrid.
In total, 72 evacuees arrived at Torrejón military airport in Madrid this morning. One among them was likely wounded in the fighting that has raged across the country for weeks. The group included 34 Spaniards and 38 others from 11 nationalities, including Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Portugal, and Poland, among others.
Press access to the operation was restricted. Official sources indicated that as many as eighty Spaniards—some choosing to depart on their own, others joining different missions, and a portion electing to stay—were not part of the final evacuation tally.
powerful military device
The operation relied on the Spanish Armed Forces with four Air Force aircraft conducting operations between Djibouti and Spain to deliver supplies and transport military personnel involved in the mission. More than two hundred soldiers from the Army and Air Forces participated. In Djibouti, a neighboring state near Sudan, the Orion Detachment served as an advanced base to coordinate the deployment from the region.
The evacuation framework employed a tactic known in military terms as “snooping,” a process used to withdraw civilians from conflict zones. This approach has been rarely seen since the Kabul evacuation in 2021. The evacuees traveled to Spain aboard an A330 aircraft operated by the Air and Space Army’s 15th Group. Two of these aircraft were acquired in recent years and converted for military use. Officials noted that these multipurpose aircraft support in-flight refueling, resupply of military aircraft, and the evacuation of people in emergencies.
The A330 MRTT version is configured for medical evacuation as well. It can accommodate up to 40 stretchers and a full medical team, and it can deliver as much as 111 tons of fuel to extend the range of other aircraft. Its cargo capacity allows it to carry a variety of equipment and vehicles. The A330 MRTT is a large, capable aircraft in its military configuration, with a wingspan of about 60 meters and a length near 59 meters. It has a maximum takeoff weight around 233 tons, a cruising speed close to 870 kilometers per hour, and a range that enables long-distance missions with or without landings. It can carry as many as 267 passengers if configured for troop transport or a combination of passengers and cargo. The aircraft is equipped with modern avionics, navigation and communication systems, and a suite of security and defense features.
Spain has invested substantially in this program, including the logistics and refitting of aircraft from Iberia for military use.
Grouping civilians at the Spanish embassy
The evacuation device was coordinated from two crisis cells, one linked to the State Department and another to the Defense Department. Diplomatic sources described video communications between José Manuel Albares and Margarita Robles as the operation was planned. First, it was essential to ensure that all civilians seeking to depart could reach the embassy, where they were then organized into a secure group. The process involved days of intense effort, with defense aircraft airborne to Djibouti to begin the operation. By the weekend, those who wished to leave were guaranteed passage to the Spanish delegation at the embassy complex. When a flight window opened, the entourage moved rapidly from the Spanish diplomatic headquarters to the waiting aircraft. If timing had shifted, valuable lives could have been at stake, and the government coordinated with available resources, though doing so would have risked compromising the mission. A small military airfield near the capital served as the evacuation site, as Khartoum International Airport was temporarily shut down due to ongoing clashes.
“Multi-tasking” refueling aircraft
The Airbus A330 aircraft, while widely used as a commercial airliner, has been adapted for military roles. In its military configuration, the A330 MRTT supports cargo and troop transport, inflight refueling, and medical evacuation. It can be configured for medical evacuation with a capacity of up to 40 stretchers and a full medical team. It can also carry up to 111 tons of fuel, enabling refueling of other military aircraft mid-flight, thereby expanding range and mission duration. It also offers substantial cargo space to transport diverse equipment and vehicles.
The A330 MRTT is a major asset for air forces, including those of France, Spain, and Saudi Arabia, supporting missions and humanitarian operations around the world. Currently, the Spanish armed forces operate multiple units of this aircraft, with the first unit activated in late 2021 at Torrejón de Ardoz. A second unit joined in 2022, and a third aircraft is undergoing military conversion with another expected to join this year. Each aircraft will integrate a refueling system and an in-flight medical evacuation package, including a dedicated stretcher and oxygen equipment, along with essential critical-care capabilities. The program has seen substantial investment to repurpose older airframes for modern military use.
Commands the United States Navy Seals
The United States began evacuating thousands of its citizens from Sudan over the weekend in a broad operation that included an elite Navy SEAL team. The United Kingdom also carried out the evacuation of its embassy in Khartoum in collaboration with the United States, France, and other allies. Efforts extended from the Port of Sudan on the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia by way of Western-linked routes. Reports described a coordinated withdrawal that included diplomats from France and Britain, along with other partners, sharing airfields on the outskirts of the city where military cargo aircraft awaited their turn. Some evacuees were moved from Qadarif, a town near the Ethiopian border.
Thus, the regional footprint of foreign representation diminished sharply amid a severe spike in violence. The country has faced a turbulent transition since the 2019 uprising that led to Omar al-Bashir’s ouster, followed by a 2021 coup that disrupted the delicate shift toward democracy. About ten days earlier, fierce clashes erupted between the Sudanese Army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and a paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan, in a struggle for power that resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths.