The Iraqi authorities on Saturday decided to send emergency flights to evacuate stranded Iraqi migrants who want to return voluntarily from Belarus to Iraq.
"The Iraqi government is closely following the situation of Iraqis stranded on the Belarus-Poland borders, and within 48 hours, Iraq will send an emergency flight to Belarus to bring back those who want to return voluntarily to Iraq," Karim al-Nouri, Iraqi deputy minister of migration and displaced, told the Iraqi News Agency.
On Friday, Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the suspension of direct flights to Belarus to protect Iraqi migrants from human trafficking gangs.
Ahmed al-Sahaf, a spokesman of Iraq's foreign ministry, said that Iraqi embassies in Russia and Poland are coordinating efforts for the voluntary return of the Iraqi migrants.
Also on Friday, the Turkish Civil Aviation Authority announced that it would not allow citizens of Iraq, Syria, and Yemen to fly from Turkey to Belarus.
Thousands of refugees are gathering on the Belarusian side of the border in an attempt to enter Poland and then Germany to seek asylum in the EU countries. (ANI/Xinhua)
( With inputs from ANI )
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