SULAIMANI (ESTA) – Iranian border guards have shot dead one Kurdish Kolbar (porter) and wounded five others during the month of February, said a human rights organization on Tuesday.
According to a monthly report released by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, during last month 15 Kolbars were either killed or wounded while trying to cross Iran-Kurdistan Region border areas.
Three Kolbars died in accidents caused by natural disasters and four others were wounded by landmine explosions, the rights watchdog said.
“Gas poisoning” was the result behind the death of two other Kolbars, it added, while another one died due to “heart attack” and two more injured in “car accidents.”
Kermanshah was the most affected in terms of deaths and cases, followed by Urmia and Sanandaj provinces, Hengaw reported.
Kolbars carry goods across the mountainous border between Iran, Iraq and Turkey on their backs. They frequently come under fire from Iranian border guards.
The human rights organization reported in January that more than 600 Kurdish people were also detained by the Iranian security services last year.
