CENTRAL NEWS
Three kolbars (porters) were wounded over the course of the past two days in live fires by Iranian security forces in separate areas in Rojhelat (Iran-occupied Kurdistan).
On Monday, Iranian border guards opened fire on a number of kolbars in a border area in West Azerbaijan’s Sardasht county. As a result, a kolbar named Sherwan Mawlanpanah was severely wounded and taken to a medical unit within the Kurdistan Region, Hengaw reported.
On the same day, another porter was severely wounded after falling from a cliff while being chased by Iranian security forces, according to the watchdog which reports human rights abuses in Eastern Kurdistan.
On November 29, Ayhan Khedri, another porter was severely wounded in live gunfire in a border area in West Azerbaijan’s Urmia.
Five porters and tradesmen were killed and thirteen others were wounded in live fires from the Iranian security forces and landmine blasts. Two other porters lost their lives, one being injured in a car crash while the other was killed in a natural incident, according to Hengaw.
Kolbars carry goods across the mountainous border between Iran and Iraq on their backs. They frequently come under fire from Iranian border guards. Despite extreme temperatures in winter and summer, they risk their lives in the mountainous terrains of Kurdistan to make ends meet.
