In total, there are about 240 people to be evacuated to Finland.
Finland has evacuated 110 Finns and Afghans from the Afghan capital Kabul, the foreign ministry reports. The evacuees have been working for the Finnish government from Afghanistan. In total, there are about 240 people to be evacuated to Finland.
“The evacuees are Finnish citizens or permanent residents of Finland, along with other persons who have been working for Finland, the EU and NATO, together with their families,” the ministry notes.
The Defence Forces’ unit arrived in the area on Saturday in a historical mission. (This is the first time when Finland sends a special forces unit to an emergency mission on a foreign ground since the Continuation War.)
Because the support work could get off to a quick start has “made a big difference, as the number of people to be evacuated has increased significantly since the unit arrived,” according to the ministry.
The task of the unit in the area is to protect the employees of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and to assist in the evacuation, including by guiding the evacuees.
The greatest challenges still faced by Finland and the other evacuating countries have to do with getting people to the airport safely through large crowds of people.
“Our team on the ground,” according to the ministry, “is continuously assessing the development of the security situation in close cooperation with representatives from other countries. Based on this information, we will provide instructions to the people being evacuated, with their safety and security as our top priority.”
