Two Iraqi nationals repatriated under ICRC auspices

Geneva (ICRC) – Two Iraqi nationals were repatriated from Kuwait on 8 July under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The operation took place at the border post between the villages of Safwan, in Iraq, and Abdali, in Kuwait.

The two men were recently released from Kuwait's Central Prison, where they had been detained for reasons unrelated to the 1991 Gulf war. After the Kuwaiti authorities asked the ICRC to facilitate the repatriation in its capacity as a neutral intermediary, representatives from the organization's regional delegation for the Arabian Peninsula, who had regularly visited the two men while they were in detention, spoke privately with each of them to make sure they were returning home of their own free will. The ICRC then approached the authorities in Baghdad, and the repatriation operation went ahead with the full cooperation of the authorities of both countries.

The ICRC is pleased to have been able to reunite these two men with their families.