A Finnish special forces unit has departed Finland to safeguard the evacuation operation of the Finnish relief team trapped in Kabul, Afghanistan.
On Friday, President Sauli Niinistö decided to send a Defence Forces unit to Kabul International Airport to safeguard the evacuation operation of the Finnish relief team.
The decision was preceded by deliberations on a report on the matter in the plenary session of Parliament. The report was submitted to Parliament on Thursday, August 19, and the deliberations took one day.
According to the Finnish media, the soldiers sent to Afghanistan are likely a special forces unit from the Utti Jaeger Regiment.
“The unit assigned to the task,” according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry, “has the highest level of performance in Finland thanks to its extensive training and crisis management experience.”
After the president finalized the decision, two airplanes of the Utti Jaeger Regiment took off from the Utti Air Base in the southern city of Kouvola on Friday evening.
During the operation, the unit will operate under the national leadership of Finland. The troops will operate only at Kabul International Airport and in its immediate vicinity.
The Taliban are guarding the roads and the area surrounding the airport, according to Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (the Greens). “Obviously, we don’t go over or past the roadblocks,” Haavisto said on Friday.
The Islamist militant group Taliban took over Kabul early last week just when the U.S. was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a two-decade war.
The decision to send troops was made in accordance with the Act on the Making of Decisions Concerning the Provision of and Request for International Assistance. This is the first time the Act is being applied.
