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No Lankans in conflict areas of Iraq, assures our envoy
Sri Lankans in Iraq are safe as they are out of the troubled zones, the country’s envoy to Baghdad Sumith Nakandala said.
Lankan migrant workers in Iraq are not working in areas affected by militant violence so there’s ‘no need to panic’ regarding their safety, he said.
Iraq is in a state of crisis due to violence perpetrated mainly by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Sunni militant group, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which aims to capture Iraq’s northern provincial capitals to achieve its goal of establishing an extremist Islamic state in Iraq and Syria. ISIS now controls large areas across Iraq and Syria, including the cities of Mosul, Tikrit, Fallujah, Tal Afar and Rawa. Last week the group attacked Iraq’s largest oil refinery and took control of the town of Mutasim, foreign media reported.
Ambassador Nakandala said there are no Lankan migrant workers in any of the conflict-affected areas ‘to our knowledge.’ Most Lankans are working in Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous region in northern Iraq. According to estimates of the Lankan embassy in Iraq, around 400 Lankans work at the Erbil International Airport, 107 at hospitals in Sulaymaniyah, 72 work at hotels in Erbil, and another 48 work at hotels in Sulaymaniyah – all cities in Iraqi Kurdistan. In addition, a ‘few’ Lankans work within the United Nations system and multilateral agencies located in Baghdad, Ambassador Nakandala said.
“If you ask me if I can walk about in Baghdad, then no, but in Sulaymaniyah, one can move about freely with no problems at all,” he said. “There are no problems there. International flights come in and out of Sulaymaniyah airport and the Kurdistan borders are well protected. I also met some workers during my visit to the area. I discussed migrant worker safety issues with the Kurdistani foreign minister along with bilateral issues. They have the situation under control, there are no fears that the violence would spread to Kurdistan.”
All Lankans, including himself, in Baghdad are located inside the “Green Zone,” or the International Zone, the well-secured and heavily fortified area at the centre of the Iraqi capital, Ambassador Nakandala assured.
“Despite international media reports I’m sure the situation will be brought under control within two or three days,” he added. “We are on standby, constantly monitoring the situation. Our Foreign Ministry is working with the governments in Baghdad and Erbil. There’s nothing to be panicked about.”
Last week, foreign media circulated unconfirmed reports of some 60 foreign workers abducted in Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi oil city. Last Wednesday, the government of India confirmed 40 Indian construction workers had been abducted when the militants took over Mosul. More than 100 Indian workers are believed to be trapped in conflict-affected areas, according to Indian media reports. The governments of Nepal and Turkey also fear some of their foreign workers may be kidnapped, foreign media reported.
“If anything should happen, if any vulnerabilities are noted, even before it would happen, we have an evacuation plan in place,” Mangala Randeniya, spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment said.
An External Affairs Ministry official said so far the Ministry has not released any advisories regarding the safety of migrant workers in Iraq, adding that the issue is being handled by the Lankan mission in Iraq.