Those affected arrived on national territory two days ago, while their fellow missionaries remain in quarantine in Senegal to prevent further contagion

Defensa ha repatriado a 25 militares españoles destinados en Dakar afectados por la COVID-19

PHOTO - Defence has repatriated 25 Spanish military personnel stationed in Dakar affected by COVID-19

María Senovilla

Updated: 22/12/23

The Ministry of Defence has made public the repatriation of 25 Air Force troops who were deployed in Dakar, Senegal. They were part of the "Ivory Detachment", supporting the international mission "Barkhane" in the Sahel, led by France and in which Spain has been participating since 2013.

According to official sources, some members of the mission presented slight symptoms, and it was decided to subject the entire contingent to PCR tests. In total, 25 military personnel tested positive, all of them asymptomatic or mild.

In accordance with the health protocols established by the Armed Forces, those affected remained in quarantine until their evacuation to Spain, which took place on 15 August. They must now end the quarantine on national territory. Fifteen of them will do so at Getafe Air Base and the remaining ten at Torrejón.

Two of those affected, who did present symptoms, were admitted to the Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid, but have now been discharged.

The rest of the contingent, some 40 people, are being kept in quarantine at the Dakar facilities, although they have tested negative in PCR tests. There they will undergo all the protection and security measures established to avoid contagion.

They will return to the area once the quarantine is over

Defense plans to charter a flight next week from Spain to Dakar, to transfer the military who must continue in the mission once their quarantines are over and they are re-run with a PCR.

The Ivory Detachment, located at the Aérienne Senghor base in Dakar, has about 65 troops and two T-21 planes (CASA C-295M). Its main task is to contribute to logistical transport in support of France in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, and it does so through three lines of action.

The first, aimed at facilitating French air deployment and operations to the area of operations, consists of authorising the use of sovereign airspace and the area adjacent to territorial waters for French aircraft taking part in the operation.

The second is to accelerate planning, within the European Union, for the establishment of the training mission for the local armed forces, known as EUTM Mali.

And the last one, the deployment of air assets. This deployment involved a T-10 Hercules aircraft of the Air Force, which on 24 March 2020 was relieved by a T-21 to operate from Dakar in support of the United Nations and Barkane missions. A month ago, a second T-21 was deployed to temporarily reinforce Spain's participation in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.

The incorporation of the second T-21 is preceded by an agreement with the French Government and the concentration of the Air Force's resources at the French base in Dakar. In this way, the decision to have two transport planes and a hundred military personnel involved in the operation is materialised. The objective has been to improve the efficiency and synergy in operations after the concentration of the "Ivory" and "Mamba" detachments in Dakar, which took place on 24 March.

Why is Europe intervening in the Sahel?

The crisis in Mali began in January 2012, when a Tuareg insurrection promoted by the separatist but not fundamentalist National Movement for the Liberation of L'Azawad (MNLA) took place in the north of the country, ending with a coup d'état and the proliferation of three jihadist movements: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Mujao and Ansar Dine.

France launched "operation Serval" in January 2013, to stop the jihadist advance towards the south of Mali, prevent the fall of the capital (Bamako) and free the main cities of the north that had become safe from terrorists.

Spain joined the operation that same month, with the mission of facilitating the overflight and temporary landing of air assets from EU member countries, and with the deployment of the Ivory Detachment in Dakar (Senegal).

In July 2014, France decided to extend the scope of the operation throughout the Sahel strip, in order to increase effectiveness in the fight against terrorism. At that time, the headquarters were moved from Bamako (Mali) to D'Jamena (Chad) and the name of the operation was changed to "Barkhane" from 1 August 2014.

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