SULAIMANI (ESTA) — At least 23 Kolbars (porters) were killed by Iranian and Turkish forces on the border region between Iran, Iraq and Turkey in the past six months, Kolbar News reported on Friday.
Kolbar News said 31 Kolbars died and 101 others were injured between March and August in 2021.
Twenty Kolbars were shot dead by Iranian security forces and three others were killed by the Turkish forces on the border region, Kolbar News said in its statistics published on its Telegram channel.
Eight other Kolbars died in different circumstances, it added.
As many as 65 other Kolbars were wounded by Iranian forces while three others were injured by the Turkish forces, according to the statistics.
Nine others were beaten by the Iranian security forces.
Kolbars carry goods across the mountainous border between Iran, Iraq and Turkey on their backs. They frequently come under fire from Iranian border guards.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said on Thursday that 19 Kolbars and workers had died in the past month, including seven who were shot dead by Iranian and Turkish forces.
Eleven others were wounded, said Hengaw, which monitors human rights abuses in Iranian Kurdistan.
