Iraqi Kurds cross Lebanese border seeking refuge in Israel

Aug 9, 2001

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A group of 42 Iraqi Kurds crossed into Israel along its tense
northern border with Lebanon and requested asylum Thursday, Israeli military
officials said.
Israel refused the request and began preparations to deport the group, which included a
3-month-old baby, to Lebanon.

Lt. Col. Raz Sagui, the Israeli commander in the area, said he fired a shot in the air as the
group approached the border and began climbing the fence. But when he saw that the
infiltrators, mostly women and children, were unarmed, he allowed them to cross.

Troops held the asylum seekers under guard while Israeli authorities made arrangements
with U.N. officials in Lebanon for the group's return. After receiving food and water, they
were driven by bus to the U.N. border checkpoint in Nakoura, just inside Lebanon.

The asylum seekers told soldiers they reached Lebanon from Iraq through Syria, looking for
work. They said they could not return to Lebanon for fear that Hezbollah guerrillas would
kill them for seeking Israeli help.
Israel ended an 18-year occupation of a strip of south Lebanon last year after a bloody
guerrilla war against Hezbollah. However, tension continues high because Hezbollah
charges that Israel still holds a piece of Lebanese territory and vows to fight on until it is
returned. Israel counters that it withdrew behind a border drawn by the United Nations.

In March, 15 Kurdish refugees who infiltrated from Lebanon into Israel were returned to
Lebanon a day later. 
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