Alex Trelinski
DEFENCE Minister, Margarita Robles, has said Spain will send two army planes to Lebanon on Thursday to evacuate Spanish citizens.
As tensions ramp up following Israel’s bombing of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, many countries have warned their nationals to leave the country.
Around 350 Spanish citizens have informed the Spanish government that they want to leave the area.
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Speaking to Antena 3 on Wednesday, Margarita Robles said: “Everything is ready, obviously Spain or the Spanish government has never left any Spanish citizen behind.”
“We did it in Afghanistan, we have done it in Niger, we have done it in Sudan and we will do it in Lebanon.”
“Everybody is aware of the airspace situation but Spanish aircraft are ready, the crews are ready,” Robles explained.
The Minister added that ‘more planes’ could be sent on Friday to help evacuate citizens of other countries.
The army is prepared to send an Airbus 330, with a capacity for 288 passengers, and an A400M military transport with a 116 person capacity to Beirut.
The planes are based at Zaragoza and Torrejon.
The number of Spanish nationals in Lebanon totals around 1,000, with the majority therefore deciding to remain in the country, according to the Spanish government.
