Over 2,700 Iraqis Entered Slovenia Within 2 Years

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Slovenia has recorded over 2,700 Iraqis entering its territory through the border with Croatia during 2022 and 2023.
• Before the implementation of border control between Slovenia and Croatia, authorities recorded about 21,000 irregular crossings.
• Since 2015, over 760,000 people of Iraq and the Kurdistan region have migrated out of the country because of ongoing crises.

More than 2,700 Iraqis have entered Slovenia trying to reach other European countries in the last two years, a Slovenian police official told Rudaw.

Of those, 1,579 Iraqis arrived through the Croatia border in 2022, and an additional 1,150 entered last year.

Slovenia reintroduced border controls with Croatia and Hungary last month, intending to keep this temporary measure effective until June. This decision was first made in October 2023, and since then, Slovenia has consistently extended this policy.

According to the Slovenian Ministry of Interior, such a measure aims to prevent terrorism, extremism, people smuggling, and irregular migration.

Since the border control was set, Slovenian police recorded 12,634 irregular crossings.

In the same period of time before the reintroduction of border control, a number of 21,000 irregular border crossings were registered.

Drago Menegalija, PR representative of the Slovenian police

At present, Slovenia is in the process of deporting 19 migrants, but none of them are Iraqi citizens.

According to the Summit (Lutka) Foundation for Refugees and Displaced Affairs, nearly 20,000 individuals migrated out of Iraq and Kurdistan last year. At least nine of them lost their lives on dangerous and illegal smuggling routes.

Meanwhile, since 2015, the number of people who migrated out of Iraq and Kurdistan is more than 760,000.

As further reported by the media, some of the reasons for migration include ongoing crises, such as political instability, corruption, and unemployment.

In response to migration challenges, Slovenia has recently implemented several measures.

Last week, the Slovenian government created temporary facilities for migrants at the Obrežje border crossing with Croatia, setting up a fence, two accommodation containers, tents, and sanitary facilities at this border crossing.

Last October, Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy decided to introduce stricter border controls. Such a measure was taken amid security concerns and the situation in the Middle East.

The interior ministers of Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy met last week in Buzet, Croatia, in an effort to address and prevent irregular migration along the Western Balkan route.

According to the Slovenian Minister of Interior, Boštjan Poklukar, in this trilateral meeting, they discussed raising cooperation, with a focus on the interior ministries and police forces among the three countries.

In addition, Slovenia will host another meeting of interior ministers in Brdo pri Kranju on March 21-22. As the Slovenian Minister of Interior confirmed, they will invite the interior ministers of the Western Balkan countries as well.