Five Kurdish youths dead as migration surge intensifies

Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

At least five young people from the Kurdistan Region’s Raparin district have died on migration routes over the past month, a local organization said on Monday.

In a press conference, Ahmed Hassan, head of the Raparin Youth Organization, said more than 2,300 youths left the district in 2025 alone — nearly 1 percent of its estimated 260,000 residents. Raparin, a semi-autonomous administration within Al-Sulaymaniyah province, has been among the areas hit hardest by the Region’s economic downturn.

Hassan said the lack of job opportunities and worsening living conditions continue to push young people to leave, urging the Kurdistan Regional Government to act quickly to provide a more secure economic and social environment.

Unemployment remains one of the Region’s most pressing challenges, with youth joblessness at 37 percent and overall unemployment close to 25 percent, according to official labor statistics. Ongoing public sector salary delays have further strained households and accelerated outward migration.

The International Organization for Migration reported more than 8,900 migrant deaths worldwide in 2024, the highest annual figure recorded. Kurdish asylum seekers were among the victims, including at least 13 who died attempting to reach Europe — 11 of them in a sinking off the Italian coast.

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