Iraqi migrants caught in border crisis in Belarus fly home

By ZEINA KARAM, DARIA LITVINOVA and YURAS KARMANAU

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of Iraqis returned location Thursday from Belarus aft abandoning their hopes of reaching the European Union — a repatriation that came aft tensions astatine Poland’s eastbound border, wherever thousands of migrants became stuck successful a acold and soggy forest.

Many others inactive successful Belarus person moved into a heated warehouse not acold from the border, emptying retired a makeshift camp, Belarusian state-run media reported. But the Polish Defense Ministry posted video showing a fewer 100 radical and their tents inactive adjacent an authoritative crossing point.

It was not wide if the 2 countries were talking astir 2 antithetic sites connected their border, but it was emblematic of the dueling narratives that person marked the crisis, successful which some Belarus and Poland person sought to represent themselves successful a affirmative airy portion depicting the different arsenic unfeeling and irresponsible toward the migrants.

“We were hostages — victims stuck betwixt Belarus and the European Union,” said a young Iraqi returnee successful a achromatic hoodie aft his formation arrived successful Baghdad.

“Belarus constabulary are the aforesaid similar Daesh,” helium said, referring to the brutal militants from the Islamic State radical that rampaged done Iraq respective years ago. He past walked away.

Ali Kadhim, who is returning to his location successful Basra, said helium wanted to spell to Europe due to the fact that successful Iraq determination are “no jobs and the concern is precise atrocious recently.”

He said helium had reached a woody with a smuggler to get him to the Belarus-Poland borderline zone, wherever a Belarusian borderline defender took his passport and cellphone and prevented him from leaving the forest. For 3 days, helium had nary food, h2o oregon net service, helium said.

“I was surviving connected what I recovered connected ground. I mean I had to unrecorded connected 3 dates successful a full day,” Kadhim said.

Of the 430 radical who flew from Minsk, 390 got disconnected astatine Irbil International Airport successful Iraq’s bluish Kurdistan portion earlier the formation continued to Baghdad, said Jihad al-Diwan, caput of media relations for Iraq’s civilian aviation authority. About 30 others who were registered for the formation had problems with their documents and did not board, according to Iraqi officials, who organized the return.

One pistillate arriving successful Irbil carried a bassinet with a baby. Most inactive wore the dense wintertime apparel from their clip successful Belarus contempt the lukewarm upwind successful Iraq. Another pistillate collapsed, seemingly fainting.

Tensions had flared astatine the Poland-Belarus borderline successful caller days, with astir 2,000 radical trapped betwixt the forces from the 2 countries. On Tuesday, immoderate of the migrants had thrown stones astatine the Polish troops, who responded with teardrop state and h2o cannons.

The U.N. exile bureau says astir fractional the migrants astatine the borderline country were women and children.

At slightest 12 radical person died successful the country successful caller weeks from the harsh conditions successful the borderline zone, including a 1-year-old whose decease was reported Thursday by a Polish humanitarian organization.

Muslims successful Poland buried an unidentified migrant astatine a cemetery successful Bohoniki, wherever a colonisation of Tatars has lived for centuries. It was the 2nd specified ceremonial determination for a migrant successful a week.

Most of the migrants are fleeing struggle oregon hopelessness successful the Middle East and purpose to scope Germany oregon different occidental European countries. But Poland has taken a hard enactment astir letting them n, and Belarus didn’t privation them returning to the superior of Minsk oregon different settling successful the country.

The West has accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of utilizing the migrants arsenic pawns to destabilize the 27-nation bloc successful retaliation for its sanctions connected his authoritarian regime. Belarus denies engineering the crisis, which has seen migrants entering the state since summertime and past trying to transverse into Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Perhaps arsenic galore arsenic 7,000 migrants stay successful Belarus, according to authorities there. Many person moved to the impermanent structure of the warehouse since Tuesday, wherever they were fixed mattresses, water, blistery meals and aesculapian assistance.

Iraqi Kurds said the warehouse had filled quickly, with not capable nutrient oregon places to sleep. A video obtained by The Associated Press showed men, women and children successful sleeping bags oregon connected blankets connected the floor.

“At first, the concern was good, I mean connected the archetypal day. We were receiving 3 meals a day. But arsenic much radical came successful from the forest, it has got much and much crowded. As a result, we got nary meal yesterday and nary luncheon today,” 1 young Iraqi Kurdish antheral said.

“As you tin see, it is getting precise crowded here, and it is not casual to find a spot to beryllium oregon to sleep,” helium added, speaking connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium feared reprisals. “But it is overmuch amended than staying successful the forest.”

Everyone successful the warehouse “has spent a batch of wealth to travel present and they don’t privation to spell back,” helium said.

Amid the borderline tensions, the warfare of words has drawn successful the EU and Belarus state Russia arsenic well.

EU Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson accused Belarus of engaging successful “an enactment of state-sponsored migrant smuggling” and said sanctions and stopping flights to Minsk carrying migrants were “our astir effectual tools successful this struggle.”

Foreign ministers of the G-7 radical of starring industrialized countries besides condemned “the Belarus regime’s orchestration of irregular migration crossed its borders.”

Natalya Eismont, a spokeswoman for Lukashenko, said the information that hundreds near Belarus shows the authorities is keeping its portion of the bargain. The remainder are “categorically refusing to fly, but we volition enactment connected it,” she said.

Lukashenko had projected to German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the EU could unfastened a “humanitarian corridor” to let 2,000 migrants to caput to Germany, portion Belarusian authorities effort to get the different 5,000 to instrumentality home, Eismont said.

But German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said successful Warsaw that suggestions Germany would beryllium acceptable to person 2,000 migrants is “false information.”

Following a telephone Tuesday betwixt Merkel and Lukashenko, her bureau stressed the request for humanitarian assistance and for the migrants’ harmless instrumentality home.

Poland’s pugnacious basal against their amerciable introduction included reinforcing the borderline with riot constabulary and troops and plans to physique a alloy barrier. That attack has mostly been met with support from different EU nations, who privation to halt a surge of migration.

But Poland besides has been criticized by quality rights groups and others for pushing migrants backmost into Belarus and not allowing them to use for asylum.

Tuesday’s borderline skirmishes injured 12 of the borderline forces. Warsaw accused Belarus of instigating the conflict, portion the authorities successful Minsk denounced Poland’s “violent actions.”

Lukashenko has rejected accusations of engineering the situation and said his authorities has deported astir 5,000 amerciable migrants from Belarus this fall.

In May, however, helium had railed against EU sanctions imposed for his harsh crackdown connected interior dissent and said it would nary longer halt migrants, telling the bloc: “Now you volition drawback them and devour them yourself.”

On Thursday, Lukashenko’s state Russian President Vladimir Putin besides slammed the EU.

“Western countries are utilizing the migration situation connected the Belarusian-Polish borderline arsenic a caller crushed for hostility successful the portion that is adjacent to us, for unit connected Minsk, and astatine the aforesaid clip they hide their ain obligations successful the humanitarian sphere,” helium said.

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Litvinova reported from Moscow and Karmanau reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists Vanessa Gera successful Warsaw, Sabina Niksic successful Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Frank Jordans successful Berlin, Samuel Petrequin successful Brussels, Rashid Yahya successful Irbil, Iraq, and Jim Heintz successful Moscow contributed.