Migration Ministry to PUKmedia: Migrants should not be used in political conflicts

On Saturday, Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displaced Affairs announced the continuation of efforts to evacuate all Iraqis stranded at the borders of Belarus and Poland, stressing the need not to use migrants in political conflicts.

Ali Abbas, a spokesman for the ministry, told PUKmedia that a new committee will go to Germany in the next two days, to solve the issue of the stranded Iraqis or adapt a legal article and international materials and standards that include Iraqi immigrants, stressing the need not to use them in political conflicts between Belarus and European Union countries.

"Work is continuing through international organizations to reach the areas of the stranded people in the Belarusian forests to provide urgent humanitarian services... the situation can't stay as it is now," he said.

The massing of people at the border escalates a crisis that has been going on for months, with the EU accusing Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka of flying migrants from the Middle East and Africa to Minsk and then sending them to its borders with EU members Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.

Migrants stranded at the Belarusian-Polish borders include over a thousand Iraqis. Although Iraq began to repatriate them large numbers of them are still living in harsh weather conditions in the forests.

Karim Nour, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Migration, announced on Saturday, the return of more than 500 immigrants to Iraq, indicating that the return flights will continue.

While Ari Jalal, director of the Kurdish Summit Foundation for Refugee Affairs, said in a previous statement to PUKmedia that large numbers of migrants are still stuck in the forests of Belarus, they are not allowed to reach Minsk airport to return to the Kurdistan region and Iraq, or to reach the countries of the European Union.

"They are in a difficult siege with extremely harsh climatic conditions and do not receive any humane treatment," he said, pointing out that Belarus uses them as a pressure card against the European Union countries.

He stressed the continuation of efforts to rescue those stranded in the forests on the borders of Belarus and Poland, due to the worsening of their conditions in a very cold region.

Iraq and the Kurdistan Region suffer from continuous migration flows. Illegal Kurdish migrants often use Turkey as a transit point to reach prosperous European Union states through Greece. Many rely on smugglers and risk their lives through perilous journeys in overcrowded boats.

Recently, migration flows have turned to Belarus to get to European countries. Several Kurdish migrants died recently in cold weather conditions.



PUKmedia