KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Six young Afghan migrants were killed in two separate incidents by Iranian and Turkish border guards while attempting irregular crossings into the two countries, local sources reported.
Iranian border guards shot dead five men from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province near the border in Nimruz province. The victims were identified as Amjad, Asrar, Wahdat, Liaqat and Ghulam Nabi, all residents of Nazian district in eastern Nangarhar. The men were trying to enter Iran in search of work due to unemployment and economic difficulties at home, sources told KabulNow.
According to the sources, their bodies were transferred back to Nangarhar a day earlier, and a collective funeral was held in Nazian district on Thursday.
The deaths have triggered widespread anger on social media, with many users blaming Taliban authorities for the growing unemployment that is pushing young Afghans to risk dangerous migration routes.
In a separate incident, a 19-year-old Afghan man named Omid died under severe torture by Turkish border guards, a source in Faryab province reported. Three of his companions sustained broken arms and ribs. The group, all from Kohistan district in northern Faryab, had traveled from Iran and were attempting to cross into Turkey via Ararat mountain when they were detained and subjected to physical abuse. Omid’s body was repatriated to Afghanistan on Tuesday.
A video provided to KabulNow by a relative, along with photographs of the other victims, showed clear signs of severe torture on their bodies, including injuries to the back and legs.
Afghans continue to flee the country in large numbers amid persistent economic hardship, lack of employment opportunities, political instability, and fears of persecution. While some migrate through legal means, many resort to risky irregular routes, paying large sums to smugglers in hopes of finding jobs in Iran or reaching Europe via Turkey.
The journeys are often fatal. Last year, Iranian border guards killed at least 12 Afghan migrants in a single incident when they fired on a group of 35 people attempting to cross the border.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around eight million Afghans have left the country since 2020, with about one million reaching European countries, the majority via irregular migration paths. The IOM has documented at least 5,046 Afghan migrant deaths since 2014, including many in border areas after the Taliban’s return to power.
