Would-be Syrian refugees flown back from Belarus despite visas
Belarus has given Syrians two options: cross the border into Poland or be deported.
IDLIB — The first flight bringing Syrian migrants home arrived from Belarus Dec. 8, raising concerns about their fate in light of information that some of them were investigated at Damascus International Airport.
According to reports, the Syrian regime’s intelligence services interrogated some returning migrants and requested they get back to the authorities a few days later for further investigation. Also, their travel documents were seized.
Nearly 100 Syrians who were stranded at the Belarus-Poland border took the flight that was operated by Cham Wings Airlines after authorities in Belarus decided to deport all would-be refugees who sought to cross into Poland.
Russia’s Novaya Gazeta reported that the Belarusian armed forces told Syrian migrants stranded on the border with Poland that they needed to cross the border into Europe within three days or be deported to Damascus. The report stated that there were 54 migrants from the Idlib governorate, which meant that their lives would be in danger if they were returned to areas controlled by Bashar al-Assad's regime.
