In Iraq Kurdish town, many undertake smuggling route to Europe via Belarus

Square decorated with flags of the Kurdistan Democratic Party ahead of election is seen in the town of Shiladze, Iraq September 21, 2021. REUTERS/Charlotte Bruneau

SHILADZE, Iraq (Reuters) - Despite the risk of getting stranded in Europe or perishing on the way there, scores of people from a single town in Iraq's Kurdish region have opted to be smuggled into European Union countries via Belarus, local smugglers and officials say.

One local Iraqi Kurdish smuggler said he had arranged the trip for about 200 people wishing to leave the town of Shiladze and the surrounding area - first legally by plane to the Belarusian capital Minsk, then illegally overland.