Finland’s evacuation operation in Afghanistan ended late on Friday night when persons responsible for the security of Finnish Embassy personnel were successfully sent to Kabul airport, the country’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
The total number of security guards and their family members is 83. The group got on a flight away from the Afghan capital early on Saturday morning, the ministry said in a press release.
To date, Finland has evacuated a total of 413 people from Afghanistan, the Xinhua news agency reported.
According to Finnish national broadcaster Yle, the evacuated include Finnish citizens, Finnish permanent residents, and locally hired embassy workers as well as their families. Evacuees also include people working with the European Union and NATO missions.
The ministry noted that Finland’s evacuation operation in Afghanistan was completed when the ministry’s relief team and the Defence Forces’ unit were tasked with ensuring the efforts had left Kabul.
The Finnish Defence Forces announced that the Finnish troops who supported evacuation efforts in Kabul arrived in Finland on Saturday morning. The troops were sent to Afghanistan about one week ago.
The ministry said that it will continue to provide assistance to Finnish citizens and permanent residents of Finland in Afghanistan to the extent possible.
In Portugal, another 37 Afghan refugees evacuated from Kabul landed in Lisbon on Saturday, a media report said. Portugal already on Friday received 24 Afghan citizens who have collaborated with the Portuguese forces in Afghanistan in recent years.