Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, has called for a “thorough and transparent” investigation into the deaths of Afghan migrants at the Iran border.
Amiri stressed the need for accountability in the incident, in which Afghan migrants were reportedly shot while attempting to cross into Iran.
“I am deeply disturbed by reports of Afghans being injured and killed in the Saravan border area,” Amiri said in a statement. “Those fleeing extreme repression should be treated with dignity and humanity, not further violence and abuse.”
A survivor of the attack told Amu, an Afghan news outlet, that men and women came under gunfire after a group of migrants entered Iranian territory. Another witness, a woman from Herat, said that her father and brother were among those targeted and that there had been no word of their fate since the incident.
The Saravan-Kalgan border route, where the attack took place, is a well-known path used by human trafficking networks to smuggle undocumented Afghan migrants into Iran. Local sources report that smugglers had guided a group of nearly 450 Afghans on this perilous journey, which began about a week ago, as they sought to escape Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The journey starts in Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz Province, and continues through the Chahar Burjak District, crossing into the village of Dak on the other side of the Durand Line. The trip, which involves a mix of vehicular travel and trekking on foot, typically takes seven to eight hours.
