A dozen Kurds stranded in Libya to be returned soon: Official
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least 12 Kurds who had entered Libya illegally en route to Europe will be returned to the Kurdistan Region, Iraqi and Kurdish officials said on Wednesday.
Ahmed al-Sahaf, chargé d'affaires at the Iraqi diplomatic mission in Tripoli, told Rudaw that their number is 13 people, adding that Baghdad is in contact with the Libyan authorities to repatriate them.
“We will conduct high-level coordination with the security institutions and the relevant authorities from the Government of National Unity in Tripoli in order to ensure their safety and we will work to repatriate them to Iraq voluntarily,” he said.
Srwa Rasool, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC), told Rudaw that their number is 12, noting that they have begun procedures and “we will return them within two weeks.’
She also said that they have repatriated 90 Kurds from Libya so far.
The Libya-Italy route is increasingly popular among youth from Raparin trying to get to Europe as tighter restrictions have made the Turkey-Greece crossing less viable. Dozens have been repatriated to the Kurdistan Region after being stranded in Libya.
The Kurdistan Region has seen repeated waves of youth emigration over the past decade, largely driven by economic hardship and the search for better opportunities abroad.
The Libya-Italy journey typically takes around eight hours, compared to up to 72 hours through Greece, but can cost as much as $17,000 per person, much of it paid to militias that control Libya’s coast, according to Bakr Ali, head of the Association of Returned Refugees.
Ahmed al-Sahaf, chargé d'affaires at the Iraqi diplomatic mission in Tripoli, told Rudaw that their number is 13 people, adding that Baghdad is in contact with the Libyan authorities to repatriate them.
“We will conduct high-level coordination with the security institutions and the relevant authorities from the Government of National Unity in Tripoli in order to ensure their safety and we will work to repatriate them to Iraq voluntarily,” he said.
Srwa Rasool, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC), told Rudaw that their number is 12, noting that they have begun procedures and “we will return them within two weeks.’
She also said that they have repatriated 90 Kurds from Libya so far.
The Libya-Italy route is increasingly popular among youth from Raparin trying to get to Europe as tighter restrictions have made the Turkey-Greece crossing less viable. Dozens have been repatriated to the Kurdistan Region after being stranded in Libya.
The Kurdistan Region has seen repeated waves of youth emigration over the past decade, largely driven by economic hardship and the search for better opportunities abroad.
The Libya-Italy journey typically takes around eight hours, compared to up to 72 hours through Greece, but can cost as much as $17,000 per person, much of it paid to militias that control Libya’s coast, according to Bakr Ali, head of the Association of Returned Refugees.