Stranded Kurds in Libya face embassy obstruction, lawmaker says

Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

Iraq’s embassy in Libya is blocking the return of stranded Kurdish citizens by seizing their passports and tickets, a lawmaker accused on Wednesday.

Muthanna Amin, a member of Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, said during a press conference that the tickets had been purchased by the Kurdistan Region’s foreign relations office to facilitate their return, but the embassy confiscated them along with travel documents.

“Confiscating IDs or passports is a crime,” Amin told reporters, calling the embassy’s actions “a crime against our citizens.” He urged the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to step in immediately.

Earlier this week, Iraq’s chargé d’affaires in Tripoli, Ahmed al-Sahaf, said the embassy had located 60 Iraqis who entered Libya illegally last month and was working with Libyan authorities to arrange their voluntary return. The group, he said, included minors who had faced significant risks before being found west of Tripoli.