75,000 set off as migrants from Iraq in nine months: Iraqi official

Over 75.000 people have left Iraq in the first nine months of 2022, half or them residents of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), according to a recent report by a senior official of Iraq's Commission of Refugees.

Amanj Said told Shafaq News Agency on Saturday:

"Between the 1st of January and the 1st of October, nearly 75,000 Iraqis left the country. More than 38,000 are residents of the Kurdistan region. During the same period, 38 perished, drowning in accidents, and 27 went missing."

He continued:

"Iraqi nationals who sought refuge, particularly in Europe, are in dire conditions. The Russian-Ukrainian war has taken a toll on all the refugees in Europe, especially with the fuel crisis soaring as winter bites."

Noting that the issue of migrants are being used as leverage by certain countries who seek to settle other outstanding issues, he added:

"The migrants are the weakest link in this international auction. The federal and regional governments should take the matters upon themselves and uproot the crisis from where it began; from here."