SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Citizens from Iraq, Syria and Yemen will no longer be allowed to buy flight tickets from Turkey to Minsk amid a migrant standoff between Belarus and the European Union, Turkey’s Civil Aviation General Directorate (SHGM) said on Friday.
EU says Belarus is encouraging thousands fleeing war-torn parts of the world to try to cross its borders and may impose new sanctions on Belarus and airlines ferrying the migrants as soon as Monday.
Turkey and its flag-carrier Turkish Airlines have been accused of contributing to the migrant flow, an accusation it has rejected.
“In relation to the illegal border crossing problem between the European Union and Belarus, it has been decided for citizens from Iraq, Syria and Yemen wanting to travel to Belarus from our country’s airports not to be sold tickets and not to be allowed on planes,” the SHGM said on Twitter.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday that the European Union needed to block flights from the Middle East to Belarus to stem the flow of migrants trying to enter the EU’s eastern external border.
Thousands of people including Kurds have converged on the border this week, where razor wire fences and Polish soldiers have repeatedly blocked their entry. Some of the migrants have used logs, spades and other implements to try to break through.
Video from the border showed young children and babies among the people stuck there.
