Iranwire – Two teenage fuel carriers suffered serious injuries from a landmine explosion in Sistan and Baluchistan Province.
The victims, identified as Shahram Shahnavazi, 17, and Ali Shahnavazi, 16, sustained neck and arm injuries when they struck an anti-personnel mine while transporting fuel.
According to the Hengaw human rights organization, the explosion occurred near border post 122 in the Mirjaveh district.
The organization reports that following the explosion, border guards confronted the injured teenagers and set their vehicleon fire.
Many young men from the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, home to Iran’s predominantly Sunni ethnic Baluch minority, engage in transporting fuel to Pakistan as a means of livelihood.
They are called fuel carriers or “sookhtbar” in Persian. However, the Iranian government labels them as “smugglers” and treats them harshly, often subjecting them to the same treatment as terrorists.
Dozens of fuel carriers are killed or injured by Iranian security forces each year.
A 2022 report by Iranian state-affiliated media revealed that at least 168 Baluch fuel carrier drivers have lost their lives on the Iranshahr-Sarbaz road alone.