Citizens from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region gathered in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut on Monday, waiting for a response on how to return to their country.
“Our representative is inside, but we have yet to receive an answer. This has caused us many problems, especially in terms of work, and the longer we stay here, the more losses we have,” Darya Kayan, a Kurdish tourist stranded in Beirut, told Rudaw.
Kayan explained that they tried to enter Iraq through Syria but were turned back at the Lebanon-Syria border by authorities because they did not have a permit to enter the country.
Barzan Jabbar, a Kurdish businessman in China, also lamented that he is stranded in the country and unable to return through Turkey - the most convenient route - due to a travel ban.
“Not only me, but several other businessmen here in China, as well as several Iraqi and Kurdish nationals from Europe, because they have been handed a travel ban by Turkey in the past few years, they cannot travel to Turkey and enter Kurdistan through Istanbul airport,” Jabbar told Rudaw.
He called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to coordinate with the Chinese Consulate in Erbil in facilitating their return.
Iraq closed its airspace on Friday when Israel attacked Iran, which later retaliated.
Tensions between Israel and Iran boiled over on Friday after Israel carried out extensive airstrikes in Iran, killing senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. In response, Iran launched missile salvos and deployed scores of drones against Israel.
According to Israeli authorities, so far, at least 24 civilians have been killed and 592 injured. In Iran, authorities reported 224 people killed and 1,277 injured.
Nzar Jaza contributed to this report.
