Bodies of three Kurdish migrants returned to Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The bodies of three Kurdish migrants who died in the forests of Bulgaria last month have been returned to the Kurdistan region with the help of the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister’s office.

The migrants are Diler Muhammed, aged 18, Rekawt Abdulbaqi Fathi, aged 23, who are both from Duhok Province, and Zanyar Ali Karim, aged 18, from Sulaimani Province.

The cause of their death is still unknown.

According to official figures, from 2015 until the present day, 319 Kurdish and Iraqi migrants have died in European territories, and 236 others are missing.

Economic and social factors, in addition to security, are the major rationales for migration out of the Kurdistan Region.

Since 2015 an estimated 633,000 people in the Kurdistan Region have migrated to Europe.

In September 2020, the European Commission presented a New Pact on Migration and Asylum, a package of reforms which it hopes to see adopted by spring 2024. It notably concerns compulsory help between EU members in the care of asylum seekers and a strengthening of the continent's external borders.

Smuggler networks in the Kurdistan Region frequently exploit desperate, impoverished residents who, for a steep price costing several thousands of US dollars, are promised safe delivery to Europe. In reality, the method of transportation relies on hazardous, makeshift dinghies occupied well beyond their capacities that are prone to sinking.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani previously stated his cabinet is taking all necessary measures to crack down on smuggling networks in the Kurdistan Region.