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Afghans stranded in Indonesia agree to return home
The International Organisation for Migration says the first group of hundreds of Afghan refugees who have chosen to return home from Indonesia will start their journey soon.
Some 36 Afghans will be flown out of Jakarta to Dubai en route to Kabul, where they are scheduled to arrive on Saturday.
The IOM-sponsored repatriation follows a visit by Afghanistan's refugee minister Enayatullah Nazari last month, when he met hundreds of Afghan asylum-seekers who have been stranded for up to two years after failing to reach Australia.
Mr Nazari implored his compatriots to return and help rebuild their devastated homeland, assuring them that peace and security had returned following the routing of the hardline Taliban regime.
So far at least 103 Afghans have officially registered with the IOM to be repatriated and registrations are continuing.
They are among thousands of asylum-seekers from the Middle East and parts of South Asia who are stuck in Indonesia as a result of the arrests of people smugglers and Australia's tough campaign to prevent their boats reaching shore.
10/05/2002 00:00:29 | ABC Radio Australia News
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