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Iraq
A Kurdish family from Dohuk in Iraq waits for the border guard patrol, near Narewka, Poland, on November 9, 2021. File Photo: Wojtek RADWANSKI/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq will repatriate over a hundred migrants stranded on the Polish border through Erbil and Baghdad airports, the spokesperson of the Iraqi foreign ministry said on Sunday.
“One hundred and ten migrants stuck on the Polish border will return to Iraq voluntarily, after follow-up from the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Poland and the [foreign] ministry's efforts,” Iraqi state media reported Ahmed al-Sahaf as saying.
Sahaf added that the process was carried out in coordination with Lithuania, and the airports of Erbil and Baghdad.
Thousands of Iraqi and Kurdish people have traveled to eastern Europe in recent months, where they hoped to cross over and make their way to Germany and, from there, the rest of Europe.
In response, Poland has tightened its border security. Some migrants on the Belarus-Poland border have sustained injuries, and several others have lost their lives.
Iraq began offering repatriation flights last month, returning over 3,000 Iraqi and Kurdish migrants from Minsk. It granted 420 return permits to migrants stranded on the Belarus-Poland border on earlier this month.
The exodus of Kurds is part of a migrant crisis that has compelled European nations to fortify their borders. Tensions are high between Belarus and Europe. Minsk has been accused of exploiting the migrants and using them as a pressure tactic against the European Union in answer to sanctions.
Poland has refused to take in any migrants, instead calling on them to return home.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has acknowledged the existence of systemic problems and financial hardships but says it is working to address these issues.
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