Iraq repatriates 352 migrants who entered Libya illegally, diplomat says

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s chargé d’affaires in Libya, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, said Tuesday that Iraqi authorities have repatriated 352 Iraqi migrants who had entered Libya illegally over the past two years.

Al-Sahhaf told the state-owned Iraqi News Agency that the Iraqi embassy in Tripoli is continuing to investigate the fate of additional Iraqi migrants through official channels based on information received by the embassy.

According to Al-Sahhaf, the embassy has, over the past two years since reopening, provided humanitarian, medical and service support aimed at ensuring the safety of young Iraqi migrants who “fell into the traps of smuggling networks and human trafficking.”

He added that the embassy regularly uses its phone lines and digital platforms to warn Iraqi families against engaging with smuggling groups and extortion networks involved in illegal migration activities.

Earlier in the year, a group of 110 Iraqi migrants who had been detained in Libya returned to the Kurdistan Region and arrived at Erbil International Airport, relatives and officials said. The return followed broader Iraqi efforts to repatriate citizens stranded in Libya after entering the country irregularly. Iraqi officials have said hundreds of migrants have been held in Libyan detention centers after falling victim to smuggling and human trafficking networks.

Libya continues to see large numbers of migrants despite increased enforcement and coordination with European states, while Iraqi and Kurdish migrants also attempt irregular routes through Turkey and across the Mediterranean toward Italy and Malta.