Iran-Afghanistan border dispute: Iranian Border Guards call for investigation into pushing Afghans into river

Iran-Afghanistan border dispute: Iranian Border Guards call for investigation into pushing Afghans into river

The incident between Afghan workers living near the Iran-Afghanistan border and the Iranian border guards is slowly taking the form of a global dispute, and now, after the European Union, the United States has called for an investigation.

According to reports, about 50 Afghans tried to enter Iran illegally last Friday in Rabat-e-Sangi district of western Herat province, where they were beaten by guards stationed on the Iranian border and then flowed into the nearby Hari River. I pushed, which caused some Afghans to drown.

Iran has closed its border with Afghanistan over the Corona virus outbreak.

According to Afghan officials, 50 to 52 people entered Iran illegally, 16 of whom have returned home, 16 bodies have been found and 18 to 20 people are still missing. According to eyewitnesses, the bodies of the remaining people were washed away in the river and their search is on.

The Afghan government has strongly protested the incident to Iran.

Iran's denial

In response, Iran said no such incident had taken place on its soil, but said it was in favor of an investigation.

A statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry mentioned a video of the incident in which Afghan refugees were being killed. According to the statement, Iranian officials say no such incident has taken place on the Iran-Afghanistan border.

However, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry in Kabul, Tehran has agreed to form a joint investigation team to investigate the incident. He hoped that an investigation into the incident would begin soon.

Image caption Thebodies of a few dead Afghan workers have been found, while many are still missing

Official and global response

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on Afghan authorities to investigate the alleged killing of Afghan refugees by Iranian border guards on the border with Iran and bring those involved to justice.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday, Pompeo said he was "deeply concerned" by reports of alleged violence and killings of Afghan refugees by Iranian guards.

The European Union has also expressed grave concern over the alleged killing of Afghan refugees by Iranian guards and called for an independent investigation into the incident.

Earlier, Afghan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar said in a tweet on Tuesday that he was "deeply saddened" by the deaths of Afghan refugees on the border with Iran. Such heartbreaking incidents will never be forgiven.

"I was removing bodies and guards were firing on us."

Ahmed is one of the people who managed to save his life by swimming in the river.

He told the BBC that Iranian guards had opened fire on him after pushing him into the river.

"Nine of us came out alive. Someone was saying not my friend, someone was saying not my brother. I removed the bodies of the two brothers myself but then the Iranian guards started firing at us again.

Earlier, another eyewitness, Sher Agha, told Reuters that the guards had threatened to shoot him.

According to another man, Shah Wali, they were brought to the border by bus and then forced to cross the river on foot.

Image copyrightEPA

Image caption'Nine of us came out alive. Someone was saying not my friend, someone was saying not my brother. I removed the bodies of the two brothers myself but then the Iranian guards started firing at us again.

But 19-year-old Abdul Bari was not so lucky and did not return home. Speaking to the BBC, his mother said her son had gone to Iran for work.

"Because the border was closed, he was driving a wheelbarrow here and earning fifty or a hundred afghanis a day. I told him not to go to Iran now, when the border would open again, but he did not agree and said how can I raise such a big family in one hundred and fifty.

Due to poverty, unemployment and instability in their country, millions of Afghans go to neighboring Iran for legal and illegal labor.

An estimated 3 million Afghans live in Iran, including refugees and day laborers. Hundreds of Afghans crossed the border into Iran on a daily basis in search of work.

However, a large number of Afghans returned from Iran after the outbreak of the corona virus in Iran, and it is feared that many of them have the virus.

Ever since Iran lifted social sanctions, large numbers of Afghan workers have been trying to cross the border again.