Iraq to repatriate over 850 more stranded migrants over next 24 hours: Official

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Government-run Iraqi Airways will operate its fourth and fifth flights this week dedicated to bringing back more than 850 additional migrants among thousands, mostly Iraqi or Syrian nationals, who have been stranded for weeks in dangerous and freezing conditions on the border of Belarus.

"A repatriation flight with 431 Iraqis on board will touch down this evening and another batch with 430 returnees is expected to arrive on Saturday," said Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf in a statement released on Friday, just hours after two early morning flights brought back more than 600 individuals.

Read More: Over 600 migrants stuck for weeks on Belarus border fly home to Iraq, Kurdistan Region 

While speaking to Kurdistan 24 shortly after their arrival in Erbil, returning migrants gave a mix of reasons for setting out on the dangerous journey, from Yezidis (Ezidis) who had been living in Kurdistan Region displacement camps since fleeing the disputed district of Sinjar (Shingal) when ISIS took over the area in 2014 to others who cited a lack of local job opportunities as their motivation.

Both the Kurdistan Region and the federal government in Baghdad have a longstanding policy to refuse forced repatriations of their citizens.

By Sunday, Iraq will have repatriated 1,894 migrants since the first flight on Nov. 18, according to the Iraqi official.