Afghan family stranded at Istanbul airport for three weeks

Sixteen members of an Afghan family have been stranded at Istanbul Airport for three weeks after fleeing the country, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The family of 16, including adults, elderly people and babies, arrived in Turkey on June 22 but were left stuck at the airport because of visa irregularities.

Speaking to the BBC’s Turkish service, the family members said they arrived in Turkey without visas and their entrance was denied by authorities, but that they were now refusing to go back to Afghanistan because of concerns about political tensions and threats they received from the Taliban.

The family used to live in Herat city, according to a family member whose asked to be called only Ahmed for security reasons.

Ahmed said he worked for Blumont, a U.S.-based international aid organization in Afghanistan.

He said when one of their relatives was killed by the Taliban last month, the family decided to flee and first arrived in Kabul from Herat, and then to Istanbul but were refused entry into Turkey as they had no visas.

The family told Hurriyet they had filed an international protection application and prefer to live in the airport terminal for a “new life” in Istanbul.

“The Taliban know we have fled. If we go back, they will kill us all. In no way can we return to our country. There is no way around it. But Turkey is trying to send us back. We don’t want to die,” Ahmed told BBC Turkish.

No statement was made by the General Directorate of Migration Authority and the airport administration.

Hurriyet also reported that thousands of mostly young people fleeing from Afghanistan are crossing into Turkey via illegal routes every day due to the fear of the Taliban.