Five Afghan migrants have been found dead in southwestern Afghanistan after attempting to cross illegally into Iran, while 14 others who were traveling with them remain missing, according to local Taliban officials and relatives of the migrants.
The group of 19 disappeared while crossing the Dasht-e Margo desert in Nimroz province, a remote and inhospitable area that has become an increasingly common route for human smugglers seeking to evade border security.
Local Taliban authorities confirmed the recovery of five bodies but said they had no information about the remaining members of the group.
Relatives say they have received no news of their loved ones.
“All of them are missing, and no one knows what has happened to them,” said Mohammad Amir, a relative of one of the missing migrants. “Only God can help them now.”
According to local sources, the five migrants are believed to have died from dehydration, hunger and extreme heat after becoming stranded in the desert.
Amu TV contacted Taliban officials in Nimroz for further details on the missing migrants, but they had not responded by the time of publication.
Information obtained by Amu TV indicates that each migrant paid between 40 million and 50 million Iranian rials to human smugglers, who promised to take them safely across the border into Iran.
Residents say the journey has become increasingly perilous in recent months.
“Two of my sons and two of my nephews were trying to enter Iran illegally,” said Amanuddin, whose family members previously attempted the crossing. “After they crossed the barbed-wire fence, Iranian border guards arrested them and beat them severely. They suffered serious injuries.”
Amu TV has learned that human smugglers have increasingly shifted migrants to the Dasht-e Margo route, which links Afghanistan to Iran through Sistan and Baluchestan province. Smugglers favor the route because it has fewer security checkpoints than other border crossings.
But the desert has also become one of the deadliest migration corridors in the region. Summer temperatures, scarce water supplies and vast, uninhabited terrain leave migrants vulnerable if they become separated from their guides or abandoned by smugglers.
The latest deaths come as many Afghans continue to risk dangerous journeys to Iran in search of work and economic opportunities, despite repeated reports of fatalities, abuse by smugglers and the hazards of crossing one of the harshest deserts in the region.
