Kurdistan repatriates +300 migrants from Libya, Tunisia

Shafaq News – Erbil

More than 300 Kurdish migrants held in Libya and Tunisia were brought back to the Kurdistan Region this year, the Association of Migrants Returning from Europe announced on Saturday.

During a press conference, Association head Bakr Ali said the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Foreign Relations Department facilitated the return of 319 people, including 85 from Tunisia, while 25 remain in Libya and seven in Bulgaria.

Thousands of Iraqis and Kurds continue to take irregular routes to Europe through North Africa, where smugglers exploit instability in Libya and Tunisia.

While many smuggling routes operate underground, some are tied to organized international networks. In January 2025, the UK’s National Crime Agency announced the arrest of three men from al-Sulaymaniyah as part of a coordinated crackdown on a trafficking ring linked to Amanj Hasan Zada, an Iranian national based in Preston, UK.

Read more: The shifting sands of hope: Iraqi migrants find new paths