More than 1.5 million Afghans have returned from Iran in recent months, many of them involuntarily and without any resources, placing unprecedented pressure on Afghanistan’s already fragile humanitarian infrastructure, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said.
Egeland said that the returnees were arriving “with no destination, no support network, and no possessions,” as humanitarian organizations face critical funding shortfalls.
“The humanitarian system is being stretched to breaking point trying to support them, right when critical funding is being cut,” Mr. Egeland said in a statement. “Our teams are working to provide them with legal and cash assistance — and many of our staff are personally hosting returnee families in their homes.”
The return of Afghans from Iran has escalated since Tehran set a September deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave the country. If the current pace continues, the number of returnees could surpass three million by the end of 2025, according to the council.
Inside Afghanistan, more than 22 million people already require humanitarian assistance. Mr. Egeland warned that the influx of returnees would further deepen the crisis, especially as donor support declines.
He called for an immediate halt to involuntary returns and urged the international community to increase support for humanitarian operations both within Afghanistan and in neighboring countries that have hosted Afghan refugees for decades.
