At least 29,000 Afghan nationals returned from Iran on Thursday, July 10, amid a sharp increase in deportations, according to figures by the Taliban-run commission overseeing migrant affairs.
In a statement, the commission said 21,881 people, or 3,475 families, crossed into western Herat Province through the Islam Qala border crossing, while another 6,712 individuals from 1,377 families entered via the Silk Bridge crossing in Nimroz Province.
The Taliban said the returns are part of a growing wave of deportations by Iranian authorities, which United Nations agencies have also described as unprecedented in recent months.
According to UN data, more than 450,000 Afghans have returned or been forcibly expelled from Iran in the past six weeks, many of them without documentation or access to services upon arrival.
Iran hosts one of the world’s largest populations of Afghan migrants, including both registered refugees and undocumented laborers. Human rights organizations and aid groups have warned that mass deportations, particularly of vulnerable groups, are worsening humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan.
