Evacuation team leaves Kabul for Finland as situation worsens

The Finnish Foreign Ministry´s aid team along with the Finnish troops on Thursday ended their evacuation operation and left for Finland following the deteriorating law and order situation at the Kabul airport.

Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen at a press conference late Thursday night informed that the Finnish evacuation operation at Kabul Airport has ended for now.

“The Foreign Ministry's evacuation team and the Defense Forces' protection team have left Kabul tonight ( Thursday night) and they are on way to Finland. The atmosphere does not allow to run the operation at Kabul Airport anymore as the security situation deteriorated rapidly,” said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a twitter post in Finnish late Thursday night.

During the past ten days in Kabul, a total of 330 persons were evacuated from Kabul while some dozens of people in the evacuation list still remained left in Afghanistan.

The authority evacuated a total of 240 Finnish citizens, permanent residents of Finland, and locally employed staff members of the Finnish Embassy, including their family members, said the Ministry in a press release.

This number also includes persons who were evacuated based on their vulnerable position. In addition, in line with the government decision of 13 August, all Finnish persons who worked for the EU Delegation and the NATO Mission in Afghanistan were evacuated.

The total number of these persons is 80. The diplomatic personnel working for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs were also brought safely home.

The Foreign Minister, however, said that efforts to ensure safety of those, who remained left would be continued. The government will try to bring them with the remaining flights of different other countries.

The situation at the Kabul Airport deteriorated quickly after gun-firing continued there following the twin explosions on Thursday night, reported Xinhua, quoting a local TV channel.

Earlier on 21 August a team of the Finnish Defence Forces reached at the Kabul Airport and started evacuation operation.

On 20 August, President Sauli Niinistö approved the government´s proposal to send a Defence Forces unit to Kabul International Airport.