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A group of some 294 former Afghan collaborators and their families arrived tonight at the

Torrejón de Ardoz

air base (Madrid) on a plane from

Islamabad

(Pakistan).

The plane, chartered by the

Ministry of Defense

from the Pakistani capital, landed at the air base around 10:15 p.m. and is part of the Spanish government's operation to evacuate personnel who collaborated in

Afghanistan

with the Spanish authorities.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and the Secretary of State for Migration,

Isabel Castro Fernández,

welcomed the new group of Afghans, including fifteen babies, at the foot of the runway.

The arrival of this group coincides with the first anniversary of the rescue operation launched by Spain after the Taliban came to power.

According to sources from the

Ministry of Inclusion and Migration,

when they get off the plane, the 294 Afghans will be informed of the possibility of requesting international protection in Spain by members of

UNHCR

and the

Asylum and Refuge Office of the Ministry of the Interior.

Newcomers can make this request this very night after passing the Immigration control before the police in Torrejón.

Minister Albares waits at the foot of the track for the arrival of the Afghan collaborators. EFE

As it is estimated that everyone is going to apply for refuge, Inclusion has organized, together with social entities, their transfer to the reception centers tonight, where they will spend the next few months while their application is processed.

The sources have detailed that 32 families are going to be referred to centers managed by half a dozen entities (such as

CEAR, Red Cross, ACCEM)

, where their reception process will begin in

Zaragoza, Guadalajara and the Community of Madrid.

So far, Spain has evacuated around 3,000 people from Afghanistan, two thirds of them on the nearly twenty flights that departed from the Afghan capital -

Kabul

- between August 16 and 27, 2021.

Subsequently, other flights with Afghan refugees have arrived - from various countries such as

Pakistan, Iran and Turkey

-, the last one a few weeks ago

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  • Afghanistan

  • Torrejon de Ardoz

  • Turkey

  • Iran

  • Madrid's community

  • Guadalajara

  • European Union

  • Ministry of Defence

  • Pakistan

  • Refugees