26-Year-Old Kurdish Kolbar Critically Injured by Iranian Forces

A Kurdish kolbar, identified as 26-year-old Arman Hosseini, was critically injured by Iranian border forces on Tuesday.

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

He has been transferred to a medical center in Tabriz for treatment.

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.