Iranian authorities say security forces have rescued more than 2,000 Afghan migrants who were stranded by heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures in border areas between Iran and Afghanistan.
Hojat Sediqi, the prosecutor of Taybad county in northeastern Iran, said Iranian forces rescued 2,106 Afghans who had entered the country “illegally.” He said the migrants were later handed over to the Taliban.
Sediqi said the migrants were trapped in remote border areas during severe snowfall and sub-zero temperatures and were identified by Iranian armed forces stationed in the region before they moved further into the country.
Iran’s Mehr News Agency quoted Sediqi as saying the migrants received medical treatment and welfare assistance after suffering from cold exposure and frostbite.
The announcement comes amid reports of Afghan migrant deaths along the same route. On December 19, sources in Herat told Afghanistan International that a group of Afghan migrants travelling to Iran had died on Iranian soil during a severe cold wave. According to the sources, the bodies of at least 15 people were transferred to the districts of Kohsan and Adraskan in Herat province, with some reports suggesting the death toll could be much higher.
Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Herat, confirmed the deaths of three Afghans at the Kohsan border, saying they died from exposure to cold weather.
Iranian authorities have not commented publicly on reports of Afghan deaths along the route.
Sources told Afghanistan International that as temperatures dropped, hundreds of Afghans attempted to cross into Iran from the districts of Ghorian and Kohsan in Herat. During periods of heavy snowfall, reduced border surveillance often leads some migrants to attempt irregular crossings, the sources said.
International organisations say rising poverty, unemployment and worsening food insecurity in Afghanistan driven by drought and a sharp decline in international aid are key factors pushing Afghans to migrate irregularly to neighbouring countries.
