Escape plan

Betty Henderson

THE Spanish government said it was on high alert on Friday, April 21 as it prepared to evac‐uate around 60 Spanish na‐tionals from war‐torn Sudan.

The conflict situation in the country is rapidly deteriorat‐ing, and fighting shows no signs of abating. The Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, said military planes are on standby and ready to go when the situation stabilises enough to enter. Until then, the em‐bassy is working tirelessly to gather all Spanish nationals and prepare for the evacua‐tion. In the meantime, the Spanish government is urging Sudanese forces to reach a ceasefire that will allow for‐eigners to leave the country and Sudanese nationals to re‐ceive vital humanitarian aid.

Spain will also cooperate with other nations to rescue their citizens. Sudan is a coun‐try located in the northeast of Africa which has been em‐broiled in conflict and political instability for many years.

The latest outbreak of vio‐ lence erupted after a military coup in 2019, which led to clashes between government forces and opposition groups. The situation has deterio‐rated in the past week, with fighting intensifying in many parts of the country including in the capital, Khartoum, caus‐ing mass displacement and a severe humanitarian crisis.

General al-Burhan meets with troops.

THE European Union (EU) has issued a stern warning to Spain over a controversial en‐vironmental law that seeks to legalise irrigation in thou‐sands of hectares of land around Doñana National Park, one of the most impor‐tant wetlands in Europe.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, the European Commissioner for Environment, wrote a letter on Thursday, April 20, ex ‐pressing his concerns about the proposed law and threat‐ened to take legal action if it violates environmental legis‐lation.