ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The families of ten missing Kurdish migrants rejected reports of their deaths by drowning after footage surfaced showing an incident in the Mediterranean, affirming instead that they have received information that their loved ones may be held in a Libyan prison.
Ten young Kurdish migrants were reported missing while attempting to reach Italy from Libya on August 5.
For the past few days, reports of a yacht sinking off the coast of Italy and subsequent video footage with potential identifying marks have left their families in deep distress.
Sardar Abdullah, from Raniya, told Rudaw's Abubakri Ismail on Wednesday that the body had a tattoo similar to one his son had, but its build was different.
“It is true he had a tattoo on his chest, but his frame and physique do not resemble my son at all,” Abdullah said. “I will not hold a funeral. I am not certain yet.”
The families’ concerns follow a claim by Kurdish migrant activist Ranj Pishdari that 10 Kurdish migrants had drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy. The claim has not been independently confirmed.
Another relative, Zrar Khalid, said the families believe the migrants were detained instead and are holding on to hope that they are still alive.
“Our relatives were not sent, they did not leave, and they did not enter the water to have drowned in it — they have certainly been detained,” Khalid said.
Abu Bakir Ali, head of the Association of Returned Migrants from Europe, said families had information indicating the migrants were being held in Libya.
“They even have information that they were detained by a brigade named the 111th Brigade, 51st Battalion, and that their specific detention facility is Rughba, if I am not mistaken," he said.
Others, such as Iraqi lawmaker Muthanna Amin, claimed that the ten migrants held in Libya are in the hands of armed groups rather than state authorities, citing Libyan security services.
The 10 migrants from the Raparin administration were among 18 people who reportedly left Libya by boat. The other eight were Afghan, according to the families.
The case highlights the risks faced by young people from the Kurdistan Region taking irregular routes to Europe despite the often fatal dangers associated with the journey.
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