Authorities in Afghanistan are investigating after Iranian border guards were accused of beating and forcing dozens of migrants to drown in a river.
The incident reportedly occurred last week after a group of migrants crossed over into Iran from Afghanistan’s Gulran district located in the country’s northwestern Herat province. A survivor told Radio Free Europe that the Iranian guards tortured and beat them for hours before forcing the large group at gunpoint into the torrential Harirud river, drowning most of them.
Habiburrahman Pidram, an Afghan lawmaker from the Herat province, told Reuters after speaking to survivors that the group was comprised of 57 migrants, only 12 of which managed to survive the ordeal.
“These workers were kept in custody by Iranian forces and, after 24 hours, the Afghan workers were brought to the bank of the river, beaten, and ordered to jump in the river to go back to Afghanistan,” Pidram said, noting that those who couldn’t swim were threatened at gunpoint and forced to jump into the stream or were pushed.
Pidram said that Afghan authorities were working to recover bodies and said that five were discovered by a shepherd downstream in Turkmenistan, which shares a border with both countries.
Another survivor, Shah Wali, said the Iranian guards were callous toward the plight of the migrants attempting to escape their poverty-stricken villages in Afghanistan.
“While we were struggling for our lives and drowning in the river, they were laughing,” he said.
The incident has triggered a diplomatic row between Iran and Afghanistan despite the former’s denial that its guards were responsible for the atrocity. Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar called the deaths an “unforgivable crime” on Wednesday. The United States has also condemned the incident, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling on the Afghans to bring those responsible to justice.
“We encourage the Afghan authorities to undertake a full investigation and to seek to hold those perpetrators accountable,” Pompeo said.
“We are not the only nation whose citizens are subject to the Iranian regime’s brutality,” Pompeo said. “I was appalled to see reports last week of Iranian guards on the border of Afghanistan’s Herat province abused, tortured, drowned Afghan migrants who dared to cross the border simply in search of food and work. We encourage the Afghan authorities to undertake a full investigation and to seek to hold those perpetrators accountable.”
The deaths come as Afghanistan continues to fight against the Taliban insurgency in the country. Despite signing a peace accord with the U.S., the militant group has continued to attack Afghan government forces. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said over Twitter on Thursday that the Taliban and Iran are in contact about the drownings.
