Lebanon holds 21 Kurds accused of trying to migrate to Europe

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Lebanese authorities have detained 21 people from the Kurdistan Region accused of attempting to migrate to Europe. Kurdish authorities said they are in contact with Beirut to release and eventually repatriate them.

 

Abdullah Ahmed told Rudaw on Saturday that his son and nephew are among those detained.

 

"Last night, my son called me saying 'I have been jailed in the city of Tarablus [Tripoli]," Ahmed said. 

 

His son said they were arrested "for trying to migrate to Europe," but Ahmed disputed that charge. "No one uses the Lebanon route to migrate to Europe,” he said.

 

He called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to help free them.

 

A government spokesperson said they are involved.

 

"We are aware of the situation of the detainees. They were arrested in different areas and eventually imprisoned in one place," Abdulkhaliq Mohammed, media officer for the Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw.

 

Mohammed assured worried families that they are "working to repatriate them."

 

"Those who do not carry passports because of any reasons, we will issue temporary passports for them. We will be working with the embassy of Iraq in Lebanon to repatriate them,” he added.

 

A well-placed source from the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of the Interior said they will set up a team tasked with working for the return of the 21 detained in Lebanon.

 

Thousands of Kurds attempt the perilous journey to Europe each year, often through Turkey and more recently Libya, because of its strategic location and proximity to Italy.