Embassy arranges return of 33 Iraqi migrants from Libya

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s embassy in Libya has arranged the voluntary return of 33 Iraqi migrants, on a flight leaving Tripoli on Sunday night and arriving in Erbil early Monday, chargé d’affaires Ahmed al-Sahaf said.

The embassy worked with the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Department of Foreign Relations and provided the tickets “with the aim of easing the burden on their families,” Sahaf told the Iraqi News Agency. Smuggling and trafficking networks “continue to ensnare young migrants, exposing them to risks and legal accountability,” he said, adding that the embassy also shares information and works with Libyan security authorities.

Iraq has repatriated 352 migrants from Libya over the past two years, Sahaf said in late May, with the embassy providing humanitarian, medical and other support since it reopened. A group of 110 who had been held in Libyan detention returned to Erbil earlier this year. Iraqi officials say hundreds have been held in Libyan detention centres after falling into the hands of smuggling networks.

Libya remains a major transit country for migrants despite tighter enforcement and coordination with European states, while Iraqis and Kurds also take irregular routes through Turkey and across the Mediterranean toward Italy and Malta.