iranwire – Iranian Border Guard forces shot and wounded two Kurdish kolbars in separate shootings along the country’s western border.
Siavash Javani, 30, from Saqqez, was shot on Monday in the Bashtam border area of Saqqez, sustaining serious injuries to his waist and thigh.
During the shooting, border guards opened fire on a group of kolbars, killing four pack horses and wounding two others.
In a separate shooting, a kolbar identified only as Sina was wounded after being shot by Border Guard forces on November 26 in the Bashmaq border region of Marivan, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
Kolbars are informal laborers who carry goods across Iran’s mountainous borders on foot or horseback.
Rights groups have documented a rise in the killing of these workers by Iranian security forces in recent months.
In 2024, deaths and injuries among border porters in Iran’s western provinces rose by 15 per cent, with 345 kolbars affected by violence and harsh conditions.
Casualties recorded in West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces included 59 deaths and 286 injuries.
According to Kolbar News, 75 per cent of these incidents were caused by direct gunfire from Iranian military forces, with 259 kolbars shot during the year.
The report also said 22 victims were children under 18, including one minor who died from exposure to freezing temperatures.