Iraq has repatriated 370 of its non-EU citizens from Belarus / Article

Iraq has repatriated 370 of its citizens from Belarus who had hoped to cross the Lithuanian border illegally to enter the European Union (EU), a government source said.

Last week, Baghdad announced that it was suspending flights to Belarus in order to stop the flow of illegal immigration and “protect Iraqi citizens who have fallen victim to smuggling networks.”

Ahmed as Sahaf, a spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, said that 240 Iraqis had been transported from Minsk on a special flight to Baghdad on Tuesday evening, but 130 a day earlier.

Other special flights will be organized to repatriate Iraqis who are currently stuck at the Belarusian border with Lithuania, although the number is unknown, “because the border is very long,” Sahafs added in a conversation with AFP.

The EU announced on Tuesday that the number of intercepted illegal immigrants from Belarus has dropped significantly as Iraq suspended scheduled flights from Baghdad to Minsk.

Lithuania has accused Minsk of diverting illegal immigrants to its border, with the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko seeking revenge on the EU for sanctions and the support of its member states for the Belarusian opposition.

CONTEXT:

In the summer of 2021 the number of migrants has increased significantly, which is trying to enter the territory of Lithuania from Belarus. Most migrants have come from Iraq.

Lithuanian officials believe that the Belarusian authorities deliberately does not constitute an obstacle to the crossing of the borderto punish Lithuania for supporting the Belarusian opposition and imposing sanctions on the Alexander Lukashenko regime. Lithuania describes such action as the spread of a hybrid war against the European Union.

Lithuania is planning to reduce the flow of migrants along the Belarusian border to Build a Fence Four Meters High |. Border guards have also been ordered send migrants back to Belarus.

–