Iranian Border Forces Critically Injure Kurdish Kolbar

A Kurdish kolbar, identified as 44-year-old Mozaffar Asadrokh, was critically injured by Iranian border forces on Monday.

The incident occurred near the Savoj border crossing in Marivan, according to a report by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.

Asadrokh, a resident of the nearby Chawg village, was carrying goods when he was shot by border guards.

He sustained severe injuries to his leg and was transferred to Fajr Hospital in Marivan for treatment. Asadrokh is married and has two children.

Kolbars are porters who haul goods on their backs and feet over long distances across Iran's borders, mainly around the impoverished, mountainous Kurdish areas adjacent to Iraq.

According to the Kolbar News website, a total of 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 fire by military forces, blizzards, cold weather, and falls from mountains and heights.