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Refugee crisis in Europe

Belavia not accepting Afghans, Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis on flights from Dubai to Minsk

On November 12, Belavia airline reported that it stopped taking on board citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen from Turkey to Belarus

MINSK, November 15. /TASS/. The Belarusian national airline, Belavia will not take on board citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen from Dubai to Minsk based on a decision of the UAE authorities, the airline’s statement reported on Monday.

"According to the decision of the competent authorities of [the] UAE please note that starting from 14.11.2021 citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria will not be accepted for boarding on flights from Dubai to Minsk," the message says. "In this regard, Belavia is strengthening documents verification during check-in for flights from Dubai".

Belavia stressed that for many years it has not operated regular or charter flights to Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and "has never facilitated the transportation of illegal migrants to the Republic of Belarus". "Due to the increased attention to this topic of some media, the airline has strengthened control on all its flights over compliance of all visa requirements and migration legislation of the Republic of Belarus and foreign countries", the press service noted.

On November 12, Belavia airline reported that it stopped taking on board citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen from Turkey to Belarus.

The migration crisis on Belarus’ borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, where migrants began to flock to since the beginning of this year, went into high gear on November 8. Several thousand people approached the Polish border on the Belarusian side and tried to cross into Poland. In an attempt to storm the border, they broke a barbed wire fence. At present, there are about 2,000 migrants in a makeshift camp. EU member-states have blamed Minsk for the intentional escalation of the crisis and called for more sanctions. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that in this situation the responsibility rested squarely on Western countries, whose policies had forced people to flee from war.

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