Politics

Kurdistan repatriates 17 citizens stranded in Romania, Hungary amid COVID-19 crisis

On Thursday, a statement issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)'s Department of Foreign Relations (DFR) announced the latest return home of citizens stranded abroad for months because of the halt in international flights from Eastern European countries, including Hungary and Romania, to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Halgurd Sherwani 2020/05/29 07:26

kurdistan KRG Romania Repatriation COVID-19

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Thursday, a statement issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)'s Department of Foreign Relations (DFR) announced the latest return home of citizens stranded abroad for months because of the halt in international flights from Eastern European countries, including Hungary and Romania, to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The new repatriation mission comes as the Iraqi Civil Aviation on May 22 announced another extension of the grounding of international flights, this time until May 31, as part of its preventive measures to manage coronavirus outbreaks.

Under the directive of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, a number of citizens stranded abroad due to the suspension of air traffic have safely returned home, the DFR statement explained.

A single flight returned 17 citizens from both Hungary and Romania to the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil International Airport on Thursday, the statement read.

1/2) - 17 students and citizens of the Kurdistan Region safely returned home from #Hungary and #Romania today, through the coordination of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations @KRG_DFR with the @MAERomania Romanian Embassy in Iraq.
— KRG Dept of Foreign Relations (@KRG_DFR) May 28, 2020

The DFR carried out the return in coordination with the Romanian Embassy in Iraq, and the KRG Mission to the EU, according to a tweet by the mission, which added that passengers were offered a discounted rate on flight tickets.

On Friday, the DFR announced that it had brought back nearly 200 citizens from European countries, including Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The returnees "will follow health measures and undergo quarantine for 14 days," the DFR affirmed.

2/2) The repatriation process for nationals stranded abroad due to #COVID-19 is under the directive of Prime Minister @Masrour_Barzani and follow-up by Minister @SafeenDizayee. All returnees are required to follow health measures and undergo a quarantine period.
— KRG Dept of Foreign Relations (@KRG_DFR) May 28, 2020

According to the latest figures from the KRG's health ministry, there have been 566 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Kurdistan Region, including 409 recoveries and five fatalities.

COVID-19 has infected over 5.8 million people worldwide and killed more than 360,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by John J. Catherine