Spain has a capacity to host up to 800 Afghan refugees in a tent camp at a military airfield in the city of Torrejon de Ardoz near Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday
MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2021) Spain has a capacity to host up to 800 Afghan refugees in a tent camp at a military airfield in the city of Torrejon de Ardoz near Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.
The major air force base, which is also a secondary civilian airport in the Spanish capital, was visited by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell and EU Council chief Charles Michel earlier on Saturday.
"We now have the opportunity to host 800 people at this military base," Sanchez told a joint press conference with the top EU officials.
Afghans who collaborated with European organizations continue to arrive in Spain from where they will relocate to other EU countries. Madrid is also airlifting Afghans who worked with the Spaniards, including interpreters and their families.
Sanchez added that some Afghans who arrived in Spain this week have already been flown to other countries.
"The Afghans have already been relocated to Denmark, some Baltic countries. Redistribution of people is taking place. I cannot say exactly how long the refugees and employees stay here on average, but around one to two days," the prime minister said.
On Friday, Spanish Foreign Minister Torrejon de Ardoz said that the camp set up for Afghan refugees at the Torrejon Air Base has a capacity to take in 1,000 people.
Many countries have started evacuating their citizens and diplomatic personnel from Afghanistan after the Taliban (designated terrorist by the UN and Russia) takeover, and some pledged to take in their Afghan staff as well. On Thursday, all Spanish citizens, except for diplomats and the embassy's security staff, were evacuated from the South Asian nation.
