Four Kurdish Kolbars Shot and Injured by Iranian Border Guards

Iranian border guards have shot and injured four more Kurdish kolbars in separate incidents along the country's western border with Iraq as violence against the transborder porters continues to escalate. 

Alan Mohammadi, from Marivan, along with Kousar and Kayhan Ahmadi, both from Sanandaj, and Saadi Hosseini from Baneh, were injured by direct gunfire from the Iranian border guards in the border areas.

Kolbars are porters who transport goods on their backs and feet across the borders of Iran, covering long distances, primarily in the impoverished, mountainous Kurdish areas adjacent to Iraq.

According to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on March 14, border guards in the Hengejal border crossing fired shots at a group of kolbars, severely injuring 24-year-old Alan Mohammadi.

Due to the severity of his injuries, Mohammadi was transferred to a hospital in Sanandaj, where his condition was reported as critical.

On March 12, Kousar Ahmadi, 24, and Keyhan Ahmadi, 43, were also shot and injured in the legs, back, and waist.

Saadi Hosseini was also critically injured on March 12 due to direct gunfire by the border guards at the Hengejal border crossing. 

According to the Kolbar News website, a total of 85 kolbars lost their lives while transporting goods in the western provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah between March and September 2023.

Causes of their death include direct fire by military forces, blizzards, cold weather, and falls from mountains and heights.