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Iranwire – Iranian border forces in western Kurdistan province have shot and killed a Kurdish transborder porter, or kolbar.
Jaafar Faraji, a father of two from the village of Dovlat Qaleh in Saqqez, was among a group of kolbars targeted by border forces on February 26.
Several months ago, he had already been injured in a shooting by border troops, his family said.
On the evening of February 24 in western Kermanshah province, at least 20 kolbars sustained injuries to their stomachs, backs, heads, arms and legs after being targeted by border forces with shotguns.
The kolbars are porters who haul goods on their backs and on foot across the borders of Iran, over long distances, mostly in the impoverished, mountainous Kurdish areas adjacent to Iraq.
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.
The causes of death included direct fire by the military forces, blizzards, cold weather and falls from mountains and heights.
