Iraq, KRG return over 400 citizens from Belarus-Poland border

Karwan Faidhi Dri

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over 400 Iraqi and Kurdish migrants who have been stuck on the Belarus-Poland border for weeks voluntarily returned to Erbil International Airport on Thursday, with their arrival announced in a statement by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) earlier in the day.

“Today at 6:30pm, a plane from Belarus will arrive in Erbil, capital city of the Kurdistan Region, carrying nearly 430 Iraqi and Kurdish migrants who have been stuck on Belarus and Poland borders for a long time,” read the statement, published on Thursday.

The KRG also said that there are currently over 20,000 migrants stuck on the borders of Belarus, Poland and Lithuania. Jotiar Adil, spokesperson for the KRG, previously said that at least 8,000 are from the Kurdistan Region.

The flight was organized by both Erbil and Baghdad. After landing at Erbil International Airport, the plane took Iraqi migrants to Baghdad. According to the KRG statement, over 460 migrants have requested to return to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Adil told reporters on Thursday that nearly 95 percent of today's returnees are from the Kurdistan Region.

Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for the Iraqi foreign ministry, told state media on Thursday that their consular teams in Belarus are continuing to register migrants who want to return voluntarily. The process of registration began a week ago.

KRG representation in Poland said in a tweet that the plane has left Minsk.

The migrant crisis has been a hot topic of international media over recent weeks as border tensions have deteriorated between Belarus and Europe. Minsk has been accused of exploiting these people, mostly made up of Kurds attempting to reach Europe, and using them as a trump card against the European Union. Poland has refused to take in any refugees, instead calling on them to return home.

Belarus said on Thursday that there are currently around 7,000 migrants on its soil, adding that nearly 2,000 are camped on the Polish border.

Many Kurdish migrants are young people, leaving the country in search of jobs and opportunities they feel they cannot get at home where unemployment is high and political tensions and instability leave them with little hope for their future.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday said that the migrants are being “exploited” by “human traffickers.” He acknowledged that the Region has had economic difficulties, brought about by low oil prices, the pandemic, and budget disputes with Baghdad, but said his cabinet has made progress with reforms and job creation. “Many want to go to Europe in search of a different opportunity; it’s not the flee of desperation.”

Updated 7.53pm