Tens of thousands of Iranian Kurds in Iraq await UN assistance to relocate to a third country

Al Jazeera News Network has written about the dire conditions in which these refugees live, referring to the story of Behzad Mahmoudi, a Kurdish refugee from Iran who lost his life after setting himself on fire in front of the United Nations office in Erbil.

In this report, Behzad Mahmoudi's friend, who was also about to set himself on fire with Behzad, said that Behzad had applied to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for temporary resettlement and asylum in a third country, but had not received a response.

Behzad Mahmoudi's friend, who has not been named, says that both men were employed as construction workers in Erbil, but were unable to find a place to stay and were at risk of being deported and returned to Iran. However, despite repeated requests, they did not receive any financial assistance from the UN.

Firas al-Khatib, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview that the UN office in Erbil is processing the cases of 10,000 Iranian Kurds in accordance with the standards set out in international law. Mr. al-Khatib also said that in this process they must ensure that the refugees are civilians and have no history of military activity.

Source: Voice of America