Prime Minister's Office of Spain

05/12/2023 | Press release | Archived content

The Minister for Defence recognises the work of the Operations Command (MOPS) in the two evacuation operations in Sudan

Margarita Robles visited the Operations Command (MOPS), at its Retamares Base in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), to recognise the work of planning, conducting and executing the two recent operations to evacuate some 300 civilians in Sudan in which the Army, Air Force and the Navy were involved.

Robles wanted to visit the nerve centre where the operations of the Armed Forces are prepared and coordinated, under the strategic command of the Chief of Defence Staff, to thank them for the successful operations in Sudan, but also for the aid to Ukraine and the missions in the Sahel, among many others.

"What they do here is very unknown because it is not visible since it has to be done in secret, and later, when the mission goes well, the units that have been on the ground have more repercussions", acknowledged the minister, who stressed the importance of the "modern, prepared and effective" Spanish Armed Forces in the European Union and NATO.

For this reason, Robles insisted that "Spain should feel very proud of its Armed Forces, because the work they are doing to preserve peace in the world has become a point of reference", recognised by European and Atlantic partners, which, as in the case of Sudan, she said, "there is no greater demonstration of generosity than offering our Armed Forces in distant areas to help people in other countries".

The minister inquired about the evolution of the war in Ukraine, to which Spain is firmly committed to helping the population and its Armed Forces, and the Chief of Defence Staff (JEMAD), Admiral General Teodoro López Calderón, pointed out that "we are in a situation of stagnation, with fronts that have been immobile for months, which is producing an enormous number of casualties".

JEMAD added that the expectation right now is whether or not Ukraine will carry out a counteroffensive, and predicted that the war "will go on for a long time".

Time and coordination

Admiral López Calderón also referred to the example of the Russian troops in Ukraine to highlight how essential it is to have a good command structure, "which knows how to do its job well so that later, in the tactical use of force, things can be done well", as has happened in the case of Sudan, where "despite moments of difficulty, with the participation of everyone, it was possible to get the citizens out of there in record time".

In a presentation, the commander of the Operations Command (CMOPS), Lieutenant General Francisco Braco, detailed how the rescue of civilian personnel in Sudan went, highlighting that "timing and coordination" - with other foreign operations commands (France, Germany, Italy and the US) as well as with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "whose collaboration has been essential" - have been key to the success of the operations, with very positive coverage in the media and on social networks.

"The personnel have worked efficiently as professionals, but they have also worked with heart, which is what this situation demanded," said Braco, stressing that "all this does not happen spontaneously, it happens because we work and prepare for it".

"It didn't go well, we did well," the MOPS chief stressed.

Robles stressed the importance of the Operations Command, whose personnel work 24/7 on many missions that are not known for reasons of security and prudence, but "people need to know that many things that are avoided are thanks to the prevention work that is carried out here.

Two operations

The first Non-combatant Personnel Rescue Operation (NEO) was conducted from 21 to 24 April with the aim of evacuating a hundred Spanish and other nationals from Sudan.

Nearly 200 military personnel from the Army (1st Parachute Flag and Special Operations Command) and the Air Force (31st Wing, 45th Group, Air Deployment Support Squadron and Aero Evacuation Medical Unit) successfully completed a personnel extraction mission in 48 hours.

The second operation to evacuate civilians was carried out between 4 and 6 May by sea using the frigate 'Reina Sofia', which was stationed in the vicinity of Port Sudan and deployed to the coast of the African country at the request of the European Union.

The Spanish Navy ship, which has multiple capabilities and has been deployed as the command ship for Operation Atalanta in the Indian Ocean since February, successfully disembarked 162 people in the port of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on 6 May.

Non official translation