A former security guard at the Finnish embassy in Kabul told Yle News that a number of guards employed to protect the embassy and ambassador's residence staged a protest after it became clear that they had little hope of being evacuated by Finland. The guard said they gathered in a courtyard in Kabul holding printed out Finnish flags and photocopies of their ID documents demanding Finland do more to help them after they worked at the embassy, in some cases for years. Yle is not identifying the guard as he fears retribution from the Taliban. "They left us here," the guard said via an instant messaging service, explaining he served as security at the Finnish embassy. The guard sent Yle a statement by his colleagues who were involved in the protest. "Finland is one of those countries that left dozens of employees who worked for them as security for several years and saved Finnish diplomats' lives for the last two decades, but it is time to save their lives as well as their families," the guards' statement said. (https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/afghan_embassy_guards_protest_unpaid_salaries_lack_of_evacuation_by_finland/12077150) The guard said he and his colleagues have not been paid salaries for their work up to 14 August, when they were told they no longer had jobs as the Taliban entered Kabul. Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs had sub-contracted security at the embassy to a Finnish company, which in turn sub-contracted to an Afghan company, Tahiri Protections Risk Management Consulting. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) announced that some employees of Tahiri were eligible for evacuation. Yle's sources said that this list included guards from the embassy's escort detail, which represents around one third of the security staff employed at the embassy. That leaves around 40 guards stranded under Taliban rule in Kabul.

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