How Minsk became a mecca for migrants travelling as tourists

Belongings of migrants are pictured in the forest during the migrant crisis near the Belarusian-Polish border in Hajnowka, Poland, October 28, 2021. Picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq/HAJNOWKA, Poland (Reuters) - When Kamaran Mohammed travelled with his wife and three children to the Belarus capital Minsk last month from their home in northern Iraq, they went as tourists.

They were among thousands of people provided with tourist visas in recent months with the help of travel agencies in the Middle East working in partnership with tour operators in Belarus, according to documents and witness accounts.