Afghan migrants are said to have been shot – Firstpost

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has called for an investigation into reports that a large group of Afghan migrants were shot dead along the Afghanistan-Iran border.

According to Afghan media, including Tolo News, more than 200 Afghan migrants who entered Iran illegally were allegedly attacked on Iranian territory, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries. Tolo cited witnesses and an Iranian human rights organization who claimed Iranian border guards were responsible for the attack. Iran’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, dismissed the reports on X, formerly Twitter, denying any “deaths of dozens of illegal nationals.”

Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government has not confirmed the incident but said it was actively investigating. In a statement, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed “deep concern over disturbing reports of an incident on October 14 and 15 in Iran’s Sistan province, Sarbaz district, near the Kala Gan border area.” UNAMA did not say who may have carried out the alleged attack, but called for a “thorough and transparent” investigation and emphasized international laws protecting migrants and refugees.

Afghan authorities have yet to confirm the incident as it occurred “beyond the borders of Afghanistan,” said deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat. He said a high-level delegation including officials from the foreign, interior and defense ministries had launched an investigation and would report once verified details were available.

After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, millions of Afghans fled their homes. Both Iran and Pakistan host significant Afghan migrant populations but have recently tightened restrictions on refugees in their territories.

With contributions from Reuters