Two planes bring more migrants back to Iraq from Belarus

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Two flights brought hundreds of Iraqis who had sought to enter the European Union back to Iraq from Belarus on Friday, as more migrants begin to lose hope of getting safely into the prosperous bloc.

The planes touched down in Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, in the early hours carrying around 600 Iraqis, mostly Kurds, the Kurdistan government and officials at Erbil airport said.

Many of the passengers said they were relieved to be home.

"I don't want to go back along that route. It was bad, there was a lot of rain and snow," said 11-year-old Malak Hassan, whose family had tried to get across the Belarus border into the EU.

Awat Qader, from Kurdistan, said he had seen migrants beaten while he camped near the Belarus-Lithuania border, and that he would not try the journey again.