Iranian Border Forces Shoot Another Kurdish Kolbar as Attacks Rise

Iranian border forces in the western Kurdistan province have fatally shot another Kurdish kolbar amid an escalation of violence against the transborder porters. 

The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights identified the victim as 52-year-old Ali Zarghami, a resident of Saqqez.

Zarghami was lethally wounded in the stomach on March 3 at the Mishiav border in the Sarshio area of Saqqez, Kurdistan province.

Kolbars are porters who transport goods on foot across Iran's borders, covering long distances, especially in the impoverished, mountainous Kurdish regions near Iraq. 

According to the Kolbar News website, as many as 85 kolbars lost their lives while transporting goods in the western provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah between March and September 2023.

The causes of their deaths include direct military fire, blizzards, harsh weather conditions, and falls from mountains and heights.