Bodies of Yezidi relatives drowned in Aegean Sea to be returned home

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The bodies of 45 migrants who drowned off the Turkish coast Saturday on their way to Greece are to be repatriated to the Kurdistan Region, an Iraqi immigration official said.

At least 45 migrants believed to be Yezidis drowned in the Aegean Sea trying to reach Greece. Among them were women and children.

Amanj Abdullah of the Iraqi Federation of Refugees told Rudaw that the bodies have been transferred to morgues in Greece.

“In coordination with the Iraqi embassy in Greece, we will repatriate the bodies to the Kurdistan region," said Abdullah.

Many Kurdish Yezidis fled their homes last year when their region was attacked by Islamic State (ISIS) militants while many others have sought shelter in refugee camps in the Kurdistan Region.

Maiser Haji Salih, a former mayor of Shingal confirmed to Rudaw that the drowned migrants were Yezidis.

According to Salih, 13 people survived the boat wreck and managed to swim back to the Turkish coast.

Others are still missing, he added.

“They were families and relatives together,” Salih said.