Several hundred Indian nationals may be stranded in the Najaf province of Iraq, unable to return home because their employer refuses to return their passports, Amnesty International said on Saturday.
With fighting between state forces and armed groups intensifying and affecting civilians across Iraq, the stranded Indian workers could be facing rising dangers, it said in a statement in London. All the workers are reportedly employed with an infrastructure and construction company, the statement said adding that Amnesty International India spoke with some of these workers, who said they have not been paid salaries for the past five months.
It quoted one of the migrant workers, telling them over the phone: "The employer holds all our passports and refuses to return them. We have been restricting ourselves to the company premises since the conflict began because we are scared. Without our passports we can't leave this country, and every passing day makes us feel more and more unsafe. We just want to go home."
