Iran forcibly expels more than 1,900 Afghan refugees

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation says more than 3,700 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran including over 1,900 people forcibly expelled during the past three days.

The ministry in a statement said 1,598 Afghan refugees returned to the country from Iran yesterday through Herat's Islam Qala port. They included 577 refugees who were forcibly deported and 1,021 others returned voluntarily.

It said 258 of the returnees have been introduced to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for assistance.

According to the ministry, 2,137 Afghan refugees returned to the country through Nimroz’s Silk Bridge on the 9th and 10th of this solar month.

They included 66 families or 278 individuals who were forced to leave Iran and 1080 other people and one family of four and 775 other single people voluntarily arrived in the country.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has introduced 35 families -- 82 men and 100 women -- along with 11 other single people the IOM for assistance.

Since the start of this solar year, about 252,000 Afghan refugees have returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan, of which 135,000 were forcibly expelled from Iran.

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