MADRID (Reuters) – Spain will temporarily host up to 4,000 Afghans, who had worked for the United States, at two military bases used by the U.S. military in southern Spain, a government source told Reuters.
According to an agreement signed on Monday between Madrid and Washington, the Afghans will be able to stay in Spain for up to two weeks, the source said.
The agreement was first reported by Spanish newspaper El Pais and follows a deal reached over the weekend by U.S. President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to host Afghans at the two bases at the Rota (Cadiz) and Moron de la Frontera (Seville) air bases.
Separately, a plane carrying 260 Afghan refugees and their families arrived on Monday at a Spain-based European Union hub at a military base outside Madrid in Torrejon de Ardoz.
The Madrid base is being used to host Afghan refugees who worked with the European Union and their families, who will then move to other EU countries.
More than 800 Afghan refugees have so far landed in Spain since last week.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; Editing by David Holmes)
