SULAIMANI (ESTA) — At least four Kolbars (porters) were killed and 11 others were wounded in Iranian Kurdistan in October, a watchdog said on Sunday.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said in its monthly report that three Kolbars were killed and 11 others were injured from live fire from the Iranian and Turkish forces in Sanandaj, Urmia and Kermanshah.
Two of the Kolbars who were brothers were shot dead by the Turkish forces, while another died in a car crash, the organization added.
“Eighty-seven percent of the cases were from live fire from the Iranian and Turkish armed forces,” said Hengaw, which monitors human rights abuses in Iranian Kurdistan.
Kolbars carry goods across the mountainous border between Iran, Iraq and Turkey on their backs. They frequently come under fire from Iranian border guards.
