A group of Afghan diplomats from the deposed government in Kabul has issued a first-of-its-kind joint statement calling on world leaders to deny the Taliban formal recognition and chiding them for ”leaving our people at the mercy of a terrorist group.”

The statement, which was provided to Reuters ahead of its public release, was signed by two dozen officials operating in a kind of diplomatic twilight, with no government to represent but still working from missions in the US, Britain, France, Turkey and elsewhere.

The diplomats who signed the strongly worded letter were all below the rank of ambassador.

“We are disheartened that after twenty years of engagement, our allies are abandoning Afghanistan and leaving our people at the mercy of a terrorist group,” they wrote.

The letter also asked world leaders to use all available means to halt Taliban violence against women, civil society activists and journalists. It included warnings about the global implications of the Taliban’s overthrow of the Afghan government.