UN Wants Probe Into Reports Of Migrants Casualties

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has called for probe into reports that a large group of Afghan migrants had been killed on the Afghanistan-Iran border.

Afghan media outlets, Tolo News, citing witnesses, said more than 200 Afghan migrants who entered Iran illegally were attacked on Iranian territory, and dozens had been killed and injured.

Iran’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, denied the reports of the “death of dozens of illegal nationals” in a post on X.

Tolo News quoted an “Iranian human rights organisation” saying that Iranian border guards had attacked the migrants.

Afghanistan’s Taliban-run administration has not confirmed the incident and said it was investigating.

The United Nations’ Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a statement expressed “deep concern” over disturbing reports of an incident on 14 to 15 October in Sistan province, Sarbaz district, Kala Gan border area of Iran, where allegations that a large group of Afghan migrants were opened fire on, resulting in deaths and injuries.

Investigation
UNAMA called for a “thorough and transparent” investigation into the alleged incident, stressing that the rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers are protected by international law.

Afghanistan authorities have been unable to confirm the incident because it happened “beyond Afghanistan’s borders,” deputy spokesman of the government Hamdullah Fitrat said in a statement.

Thousands of Afghans fled their country in 2021 when the Taliban took power in the aftermath of the withdrawal of U.S.-led Western forces from a 20-year conflict.

Both Iran and Pakistan are home to millions of Afghan migrants, but both have clamped down hard on refugees inside their borders.

Reuters/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma