Dozens of Afghan refugees were reportedly massacred by Iranian border guards as they ambushed the desperate group of 300 people trying to flee the Taliban.
Islamic Republic border forces opened fire on the migrants on Sunday evening as they tried to enter Iran through the Iran-Pakistan border, multiple sources said.
“Dozens of Afghan nationals at the Saravan border were targeted,” said the human rights news agency Haalvsh, which monitors human rights abuses in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan region.
Border guards brutally launched bullets and missiles in the direction of the migrants as they tried to enter Iran illegally, Haalvsh said.
A survivor of the group claimed that only 50 to 60 people escaped the ambush alive, but due to the lack of internet access in the remote region, the exact number of victims has not yet been officially confirmed.
About 300 Afghan nationals at the Iran-Pakistan border were reportedly targeted by Iranian border guards as they tried to flee the Taliban on Sunday.
According to local reports, dozens of refugees were massacred by the guards
The alleged massacre comes after the Iranian regime’s crackdown on migrants trying to escape the clutches of the Taliban. Pictured: Taliban security personnel stand guard as an Afghan woman wearing a burqa (right) walks down a street at a market in the Baharak district of Badakhshan province on February 26, 2024
“We were at the Kalagan border when they ambushed us,” said one survivor.
‘We were about 300 people, maybe 50 or 60 people survived unharmed, all the others were tortured or injured. Twelve of my friends were also murdered.”
Haalvsh released videos purporting to show the bodies of those killed, claiming that the refugees were targeted not only by gunfire but also by RPG attacks.
The graphic images showed the bodies of several migrants lying motionless in the desert, their clothing stained red with blood.
One clip, shot during the night, shows a man urgently trying to stem the flow of blood from a seriously injured companion.
He quickly wraps a scarf around the victim’s leg, but the blood flowing from the wound seeps into the material and begins to leak through the fabric.
“He’s my cousin and he was shot four times,” came a man’s voice.
“It happened as we entered Iran.”
The incident has sparked outrage and concern both domestically and internationally.
However, neither Iranian authorities nor the Taliban have issued any official statements about the event.
Afghanistan’s former attorney general has said the “intentional killing” of Afghan migrants by Iranian border guards is a “crime against humanity.”
Haalvsh has released videos purporting to show the bodies of those killed, claiming the refugees were targeted not only by gunfire but also by RPG attacks
The Islamic Republic has said it aims to carry out two million deportations by March next year. Pictured: A Taliban security personnel talks to a flag seller outside the Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul on April 20, 2023
Mohammad Farid Hamidi, Afghanistan’s former attorney general, said on
Several injured migrants were rushed to a clinic in a nearby Pakistani city, but before police arrived to document the necessary legal paperwork, the injured migrants had fled the center.
However, the Islamic Republic’s Special Representative for Afghanistan denied the shooting.
“As of now, reports of dozens of illegal migrants dying at Saravan border have been confirmed to be false,” Hassan Kazemi Ghomi claimed.
He said the Islamic Republic is “determined to return unauthorized refugees and take legal action against their illegal entry at all border points.”
The alleged massacre comes after the Iranian regime’s crackdown on migrants trying to escape the clutches of the Taliban.
According to the UN, about 4.5 million Afghans live in Iran, many of whom have fled the country since the Taliban took over the government in 2021.
To prevent more and more migrants from reaching the country, Tehran has also launched plans to build a 4-meter-high wall along a stretch of its 900-kilometer border with Afghanistan.
The Islamic Republic has said it hopes to carry out two million deportations by March next year, with Afghans already banned from shopping, renting houses and visiting certain places.