Three asylum-seekers killed at Afghan-Iran border

Nimrooz provincial officials in the west of Afghanistan announced that three Afghan asylum-seekers were killed and three injured upon being shot at by Iranian security forces close to Iran-Afghanistan border.

Governor of Nimrooz announced: “These individuals who were trying to enter Iran on Sunday were killed near the borders of the two countries.”

Iran has made no statement about the incident so far; however, Nimrooz governor said that numerous Afghan asylum-seekers are taken to Iran by smugglers on a daily basis.

He added that Afghanistan does not have the capability to impede the activities of these smugglers because the two countries have a very long common border.

Nimrooz governor emphasized that Afghanistan government has repeatedly urged Iran to refrain from targeting Afghan asylum-seekers and resort to just returning them to Afghanistan.

Iran has been a major destination for Afghan asylum-seekers since the communist regime took power in Afghanistan in 1978.

Iranian Ministry of Interior reports that about 900 thousand Afghans live in Iran as legal permanent residents. However, reportedly over 1.5 million more live in Iran without legal status.