03:25Iraqi refugees who returned from Belarus on Friday recounted their experience at the border between Belarus and Poland while attempting to enter the European Union.
Hussein Elias Khadr and Neam Khello spoke from their tent at the Sharya Camp in Duhok in northern Iraq.
"We rented the taxi at our own expense and paid $300 for one way and $600 for our way back because whenever we reached the fence, the Belarusian forces were forcing us back. Sometimes we managed to cross the barrier and sleep there for two or three days," said Khadr of the migrants' attempts to cross into Poland.
He added the migrants were beaten by Belarusian troops who said "this is our system and you're sitting here, even if you die you won't return to Belarus," he said.
Khello said migrants suffered "cold, hunger and thirst", adding that "there is nothing better than dying in one's homeland. I swear we wished to return under ISIS' rule again due to the fatigue we suffered."
On Thursday, the first plane carrying a group of Iraqi migrants stranded at the Belarus-Poland borders landed at Erbil airport.
The migrant crisis comes amid escalating tensions between the EU and Belarus. Brussels has accused Lukashenko of orchestrating the migrant flow as part of a 'hybrid war' designed to pressure the bloc over sanctions. Minsk has denied the allegations.
Iraq: Returning refugees describe conditions at Belarus borders
Iraqi refugees who returned from Belarus on Friday recounted their experience at the border between Belarus and Poland while attempting to enter the European Union.
Hussein Elias Khadr and Neam Khello spoke from their tent at the Sharya Camp in Duhok in northern Iraq.
"We rented the taxi at our own expense and paid $300 for one way and $600 for our way back because whenever we reached the fence, the Belarusian forces were forcing us back. Sometimes we managed to cross the barrier and sleep there for two or three days," said Khadr of the migrants' attempts to cross into Poland.
He added the migrants were beaten by Belarusian troops who said "this is our system and you're sitting here, even if you die you won't return to Belarus," he said.
Khello said migrants suffered "cold, hunger and thirst", adding that "there is nothing better than dying in one's homeland. I swear we wished to return under ISIS' rule again due to the fatigue we suffered."
On Thursday, the first plane carrying a group of Iraqi migrants stranded at the Belarus-Poland borders landed at Erbil airport.
The migrant crisis comes amid escalating tensions between the EU and Belarus. Brussels has accused Lukashenko of orchestrating the migrant flow as part of a 'hybrid war' designed to pressure the bloc over sanctions. Minsk has denied the allegations.
Iraqi refugees who returned from Belarus on Friday recounted their experience at the border between Belarus and Poland while attempting to enter the European Union.
Hussein Elias Khadr and Neam Khello spoke from their tent at the Sharya Camp in Duhok in northern Iraq.
"We rented the taxi at our own expense and paid $300 for one way and $600 for our way back because whenever we reached the fence, the Belarusian forces were forcing us back. Sometimes we managed to cross the barrier and sleep there for two or three days," said Khadr of the migrants' attempts to cross into Poland.
He added the migrants were beaten by Belarusian troops who said "this is our system and you're sitting here, even if you die you won't return to Belarus," he said.
Khello said migrants suffered "cold, hunger and thirst", adding that "there is nothing better than dying in one's homeland. I swear we wished to return under ISIS' rule again due to the fatigue we suffered."
On Thursday, the first plane carrying a group of Iraqi migrants stranded at the Belarus-Poland borders landed at Erbil airport.
The migrant crisis comes amid escalating tensions between the EU and Belarus. Brussels has accused Lukashenko of orchestrating the migrant flow as part of a 'hybrid war' designed to pressure the bloc over sanctions. Minsk has denied the allegations.