A government source said on Wednesday (August 11) that Iraq had repatriated 370 nationals from the border between Belarus and Lithuania. Minsk had previously been accused of encouraging illegal immigrants to enter the European Union.
Baghdad announced the suspension of flights to Belarus last week in order to stop the flow and “protect Iraqi citizens who have become victims of smuggling networks.”
The spokesperson of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed al-Sahaf (Ahmed al-Sahaf) said that a special flight returned from Minsk to Baghdad on Tuesday night with 240 Iraqis on board, and one day later, there were 130 others. The Iraqis were sent home.
An Iraqi Airlines plane flew from Minsk Airport to Baghdad on Friday afternoon to transport the country’s citizens to Iraq. @BNSL Lithuania and @LRTenglish Report. This Boeing 747-446 aircraft can carry more than 500 passengers. The number of passengers on the flight was not reported. pic.twitter.com/UwKYMcZLbB
-Dominik Wilczewski (@DeWilcz) August 6, 2021
He told AFP that more flights will be arranged to return more Iraqis stranded at the Belarusian border in Lithuania, an EU member state, although their number is unknown, “because the border is very long.”
The European Union reported on Tuesday that since Iraq stopped scheduled flights from Baghdad to Minsk, there has been a “significant reduction” in migrants crossing the border from Belarus.
Lithuania accused the Belarusian authorities of sending migrants to its borders in retaliation against EU sanctions.
The sanctions were imposed on President Alexander Lukashenko’s suppression of opposition and protesters after a controversial vote.
The Lithuanian Parliament passed a law that gave the green light to build a fence on the border with Belarus.
Since the beginning of this year, after more than 4,000 people have entered the country from Belarus, Lithuania has provided strong support and asylum to the Belarusian opposition, and the repatriation of migrants began this week.
EU ministers will hold crisis negotiations on the influx of migrants next week.
