Two Iraqi planes took off on Thursday night for Belarus to repatriate more than 600 Iraqis stuck on the former Soviet state's border with Poland, the Transport Ministry said.
Hundreds of Iraqis, mostly Kurds, returned home last week on a voluntary repatriation flight from Belarus, where thousands of migrants have camped on the border with Poland for weeks hoping to enter the EU.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al Sahaf said 617 people would be repatriated, the official Iraqi news agency reported.
The first plane was due to land in Erbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, after midnight, said Lawk Ghafuri, regional spokesman.
On November 18, 431 Iraqis were flown back home from Belarus, many returning with mixed feelings.
Most said they had spent their savings, sold valuables and even took loans to escape economic hardship in Iraq and start a new life in the EU, but they did not make it across the border.
The West accuses Belarus of bringing in migrants, mostly from the Middle East, under the false pretence that they will be able to cross into EU members Poland and Lithuania.
Belarus has denied the claim and criticised the EU for not taking in the migrants.
Aid groups say at least 11 migrants have died on both sides of the border since the crisis began in the summer, and have criticised the Polish government over its policy of pushing migrants back.
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Scores
Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
