The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq has instructed to close the diplomatic missions of Belarus in Baghdad and Erbil. This was announced by the Honorary Consul of the Eastern European Republic Fuad Hamad in Iraqi Kurdistan.
According to him, this decision was made to prevent the illegal migration of Iraqi citizens: Kurds, Arabs, Yezidis, from Belarus to the countries of the European Union (EU).
The closure of consulates takes place against the background of the migration crisis in Eastern Europe. At the end of May, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Minsk would no longer restrain illegal immigrants trying to enter the EU through his country.
Yazidi migrants are in a particularly serious condition, they have nowhere to return to.
Lithuania, after a surge of attempts to cross its border, declared a nationwide emergency.
Under pressure from Europe, Iraq suspended direct flights from Baghdad to Minsk in August. Only empty planes began to fly to Belarus, on which citizens of the country could return to their homeland. However, soon the migrants found an alternative and began to cross to Minsk via Dubai or Turkey.
According to unofficial data, there are currently hundreds of Yezidi emigrants on the Belarusian-Polish border, about 15 thousand migrants are in extremely difficult conditions. A significant part of these illegal immigrants are citizens of Iraq and people from Kurdistan.
During this migration crisis, reports appeared in the media about the deaths of several Iraqis on the border between Poland and Belarus.
Warsaw and Vilnius claim that Belarus allegedly encourages the illegal movement of foreign citizens to Europe. These two EU members have strengthened border security in connection with what is happening at the end of October, the Polish parliament approved a bill on improving security at the western border of the country. In accordance with this decision, walls and wire nets will be installed on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Human rights activists and left-liberal European politicians, in turn, accuse Poland and Lithuania of cruel treatment of immigrants from disadvantaged countries. For example, Amnesty International stated that the Polish authorities illegally forced Afghan migrants to return to Belarus. Activists called on Warsaw to grant refugees seeking protection access to the country and provide them with shelter and food.

Ezdina