Nearly 100 Iraqis were flown back to Iraq from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. This was reported by the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior on Monday.
The ministry said that the plane bound for Baghdad and Erbil was carrying 98 Iraqis who had entered Lithuania illegally via Belarus. She confirmed that the Iraqis on board had agreed to be repatriated.
Interior Minister Agni Belutait spoke of a “historic event” and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis thanked the European Union and Iraq for their contributions during the migration crisis in Belarus.
destabilization of the European Union
The European Union accuses Belarus of deliberately bringing people from crisis areas into the country, only to take them to the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. People had been waiting there for months, hoping to continue their journey to Europe. The West has criticized authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko for using immigrants to destabilize the European Union.
In Lithuania, nearly 4,200 refugees have illegally crossed the border to apply for asylum. The authorities then reinforced border security and erected a fence on the border hundreds of kilometers long.
Since August 2021, the Lithuanian border guards have rejected immigrants. Those who have received shelter are staying in five camps. Currently 3,166 people reside there. A total of 537 migrants were repatriated, 55 of them against their will.
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