Kurdistan
A boat carrying migrants stranded in the Strait of Gibraltar before rescue by Spanish coast guards. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 80 migrants from the Kurdistan Region have been detained by different groups in Libya while attempting to reach Europe, family members and officials confirmed to Rudaw Thursday.
Muthanna Ameen, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s foreign affairs committee told Rudaw that a group of 21 migrants is being held by one group in Libya, while “the other 60 citizens are being detained by a different group” in the same country.
He affirmed that he is following up on their whereabouts with the relevant Iraqi authorities.
Mohammed Abdulrahman, the father of one of the detained migrants, told Rudaw, "My son, along with 20 friends left the Kurdistan Region on August 30th. A few days later, they arrived in Libya and were detained.”
Abdulrahman added that the last time he spoke with his son was on September 11.
Rudaw learned that the majority of the detained migrants descend from the Raparin Independent Administration of the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province.
For its part, the Iraqi embassy in Tripoli said it has readied credentials for 23 migrants ahead of their repatriation from Libya. Only one of them - Abdulrahman’s son - has been able to contact their families, the embassy added.
Ahmed Sahaf, chargé d'affaires at the Iraqi diplomatic mission said, "We have given them the passports and are monitoring them.”
In early July, Rudaw reported about the rising number of Kurdish youth from the Raparin area opting for the Libya-Italy sea route to reach Europe. The dangerous path has become increasingly popular due to tighter border restrictions and longer wait times along the traditional Turkey-Greece route.
Bakr Ali, head of the Association for Repatriated Refugees (ARR), has previously said that the Libya-Italy crossing is much shorter - taking around eight hours compared to up to 72 hours from Greece.
“Smugglers charge nearly $17,000 per person,” Ali then said, adding that “a significant portion of that money is paid to Libyan militias who control the coast.”
The Kurdistan Region has seen repeated waves of youth migration over the past decade, largely driven by economic hardship and the search for better opportunities abroad.
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