Thirty-three Kurdish migrants repatriated from Libya arrive in Erbil

Erbil, Kurdistan Region - Thirty-three young Kurdish migrants stranded in Libya have been repatriated and have arrived in the Erbil International Airport, Iraq’s chargé d'affaires in Libya, Ahmed al-Sahhaf, told Rudaw on Monday, with three more awaiting completion of their paperwork before returning. 

Speaking to Rudaw's Arez Khalid, Sahhaf said all of the 33 migrants were celibate young men, aged between 16 to 27 years old. He said the embassy maintained good ties with the counter-illegal migration center and the Government of National Unity in Tripoli. Sahhaf said that the migrants had transited to Istanbul, where the KRG Department of Foreign Relations  accompanied them back to Erbil. 

He called on families to avoid getting in contact with human smugglers. "I would like to sieze this opportunity to issue a brotherly and national call from my position of responsibility to ask families to avoid dealing with smuggling bands."

Sahhaf also said they are now working with Libyan security authorities to establish the fate of possible migrants from the Kurdistan Region whom might be located in Tajoura.

Last Wednesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said it had completed all procedures to repatriate the 33 young migrants who had been held at a shelter and counter-illegal migration center in Tripoli after attempting irregular migration to Europe and Western countries through Libya. 

Driven in part by unemployment, economic hardship and the search for better opportunities, young people from the Kurdistan Region continue attempting to reach Europe through Libya and across the Mediterranean.

Sahhaf told Rudaw in mid-August that 36 migrants from the Kurdistan Region had been located in Libya and were expected to be returned to Iraq. According to him, the remaining three migrants are awaiting the completion of their paperwork before they are able to return. 

Since December 2023, a total of 352 migrants had also been repatriated from Libya.

"To date, the Kurdistan Regional Government has been able to rescue 302 illegal migrants from various situations and return them to the Kurdistan Region," the KRG Ministry of Interior said in statement on Wednesday. 

Last updated at 11:18 am.