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UNHCR Supports 'Voluntary' Return of Refugees, MOFA Says the Move is 'Insufficient'

A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo
A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo
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UNHCR Supports 'Voluntary' Return of Refugees, MOFA Says the Move is 'Insufficient'

A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo
A Syrian refugee receives aid from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Batroun, northern Lebanon January 13, 2015. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim/File Photo

The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a reply from the UNHCR on a letter it had sent to it asking it to change its approach to the issue of the Syrian refugees and to work out a plan for their return to safe areas inside Syria.

Hadi al-Hashem, director of the office of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the UNHCR has “confirmed its support to the voluntary return of displaced people and would not stand against the Syrians’ choice.”

He added that the agency expressed its readiness to hold meetings with the relevant Lebanese ministries to discuss this issue, and approved the Lebanese proposal to separate between refugees and non-refugees according to their situation.

The official noted that meetings between the UNHCR and the Lebanese side would be held soon, saying that the change of tone by the UN agency was “positive but not enough to suspend the measures taken by the ministry against it.”

“We expect them to draw up a clear and serious plan for return, especially since UNHCR is still not encouraging the refugees to return to their homeland,” he added.

Earlier this month, Bassil announced a decision to stop receiving applications for residency of foreign workers in UNHCR in protest of its policy towards the return of refugees.

Bassil accused the UN agency of discouraging refugees to return to Syria. The United Nations rejected the claim, stressing that its work was limited to the humanitarian aspect only and underlining its respect to the individual decisions taken by the Syrians with respect to their return to their country.

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Iraqis Stranded in Beirut Face Black Market for Return Tickets

Iraqi citizens wait outside Iraqi Airways office in Beirut (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Iraqi citizens wait outside Iraqi Airways office in Beirut (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Iraqis Stranded in Beirut Face Black Market for Return Tickets

Iraqi citizens wait outside Iraqi Airways office in Beirut (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Iraqi citizens wait outside Iraqi Airways office in Beirut (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Iraqi Airways office in Beirut has become a daily destination for stranded Iraqi citizens desperately seeking tickets and empty seats on flights home, after Baghdad suspended air travel amid escalating regional tensions sparked by Israel’s assault on Iran.

From tourists who had planned family vacations, to patients seeking treatment or workers on business trips, hundreds of Iraqis have been stuck in Lebanon for over a week with no clear path home.

The Iraqi Ministry of Transport halted air traffic across all airports last week—except Basra International Airport, which resumed limited daytime operations on Sunday—as a precaution following the Israeli strike on Iran, a move mirrored by other regional countries impacted by the conflict.

Iraq’s airport authority said it had set up an emergency operations room and designated Basra as the sole return point for citizens stranded abroad. The decision has triggered flight bottlenecks and chaos, with Basra now receiving planes from multiple countries.

“It’s a mess,” said Mustafa, one of the many Iraqis stranded in Beirut. “We were supposed to fly back with my family of six, but our flight was suddenly cancelled, and we were given no details about an alternative.”

Efforts by Asharq Al-Awsat to reach the Iraqi embassy in Beirut and airline officials for clarification went unanswered.

Video footage circulating online shows chaotic scenes at Beirut airport, where frustrated Iraqi travelers jostle and argue over limited tickets to Basra.

“There’s no transparency,” Mustafa added. “The plane can hold 280 passengers, but only 60 official tickets are sold. The rest are offered by black market brokers for as much as $1,200 each. These tickets should have been issued by the airline for free.”

For a 60-year-old Iraqi woman who came to Beirut for medical treatment, the wait has turned into a painful ordeal.

“I was scheduled to return to Baghdad three days ago after finishing my treatment,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat while sitting outside the Iraqi Airways office. “I’ve been coming here every day since, waiting for help. I’m ill and in pain—this delay is unbearable.”

On Tuesday, Reuters quoted Ali Jumah, Iraq’s civil aviation representative at Basra airport, as saying: “The airport is now open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. by order of the Ministry of Transport to help evacuate Iraqis, Arabs, and foreigners. Despite the airport’s limited capacity, our staff and crisis cell are working around the clock.”

The Ministry of Transport confirmed it had deployed Iraqi Airways to operate international routes via Basra to repatriate stranded travelers, regardless of nationality.

The ministry said 19 evacuation flights were conducted on Monday and Tuesday alone, and it is prepared to increase capacity to bring back all Iraqis abroad.

Iraq has nine civilian airports, with Baghdad International Airport handling around two million passengers in 2021, making it the country’s busiest. Basra ranks fourth by passenger volume.