Iraqis in Egypt offered free flights home

Baghdad government says Iraq nationals can fly home to escape political turmoil or receive food and monetary aid Iraq has offered food, financial aid and free flights home to its citizens who had moved to Egypt to escape civil strife at home but may now feel threatened by unrest in their host country, officials said. The Iraqi government has helped some 2,000 Iraqis leave Egypt since the outbreak of a popular uprising against the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, on 25 January. Those deciding to stay in Egypt were offered food and financial aid, said Saif Sabah, a spokesman for Iraq’s migration and displacement ministry. While the flights to Iraq are free, Iraqis will have to pay if they wish to return to Egypt at a later date, Sabah said. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have fled their homeland since the 2003 American-led invasion, and the government since has struggled with trying to persuade them to come home to help rebuild their nation. Meanwhile, Iraqis have staged protests against corruption and poor services in several areas of Baghdad. In the famous al-Mutanabi book market, several hundred demonstrators held banners reading, “No to corruption – yes for freedom” and “Our streets are full of mud and your pockets are full of money”. Protesters briefly scuffled with troops. The march then moved into Baghdad’s own Tahrir Square – a namesake of Cairo’s centre of mass protests – where they joined about 300 people chanting against government corruption and Iranian influence over its leaders. In Sadr City, a Shia Muslim neighbourhood, about 2,000 people marched through the streets. Some carried empty oil barrels to symbolise the irony of widespread poverty in a country that sits on top of one of the world’s largest oil reserves. “We are the country of oil, and there is not one drop available,” read one banner, referring to the shortage of fuel for heating homes during the winter. Egypt Middle East Iraq guardian.co.uk

Posted by on February 11, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry