Nearly 450,000 Afghans returned from Iran this summer: UN
Nearly 450,000 Afghans have returned from Iran since the start of June, the United Nations' migration agency said on Monday, after Tehran ordered those without documentation to leave by July 6.
From June 1 to July 5, 449,218 Afghans returned from Iran, a spokesperson for the International Organisation for Migration said, adding that the total for the year so far was 906,326.
Tens of thousands of Afghans streamed over the border from Iran in the days before a return deadline set for Sunday, the United Nations said, sparking an 'emergency' situation at border points.
In late May, Iran said undocumented Afghans must leave the country by July 6, potentially impacting four million people, out of the six million Afghans Tehran says live in the country.
Numbers of people crossing the border have surged since mid-June, with a peak of more than 43,000 people crossing at Islam Qala in western Herat province on July 1, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.
The UN migration agency IOM said more than 250,000 Afghans returned from Iran in June.
UNICEF country representative Tajudeen Oyewale said this was an 'emergency' situation in a country already facing a 'chronic returnee crisis,' with 1.4 million Afghans returning from traditional hosts Iran and Pakistan this year.
'What is concerning is that 25% of all these returnees are children... because the demographics have shifted' from individual men to whole families, crossing the border with scant belongings and money, he said on Thursday.
Read: UN warns of emergency as Afghans flee Iran ahead of deportation deadline
He noted Islam Qala could accommodate the vast numbers but was inadequately equipped in terms of services, saying, 'When you start hitting more than 20,000 people (a day) that is completely beyond the planning scenario that we have.'
The agency has engaged emergency processes to ramp up water and sanitation systems built for 7,000 to 10,000 people a day, along with vaccinations, nutrition and child-friendly spaces.
Many people crossing the border reported pressure from authorities or even arrest and deportation.
'Some people are so afraid that they don't leave the house themselves...They send their young children out just for a piece of bread, and even those children get arrested sometimes,' said 38-year-old Aref Atayi of the pressures Afghans face in Iran.
'Even if I have to beg in my own country, it's still better than staying in a place where we're treated like this,' he told AFP on Saturday, as he waited at the IOM-run reception center for some support to help his family resettle.
Massive foreign aid cuts have impacted the response to the crisis, with the UN, international non-governmental groups and Taliban officials calling for more funding to support the returnees.
The UN has warned the influx could destabilise the country already grappling with entrenched poverty, unemployment and climate change-related shocks and urged countries not to forcibly return Afghans.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Express Tribune
Extreme weather misinfo 'putting lives at risk'
A woman poses for a selfie while wading with others through a street in Manila, after heavy rains caused flooding. Photo: AFP Major social media platforms are enabling and profiting from misinformation around extreme weather events, endangering lives and impeding emergency response efforts, a research group said Tuesday. The report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) — which analyzed 100 viral posts on each of three leading platforms during recent natural disasters including deadly Texas floods — highlights how their algorithms amplify conspiracy theorists while sidelining life-saving information. "The influence of high-profile conspiracy theorists during climate disasters is drowning out emergency response efforts," the report said, adding that the trend was "putting lives at risk." Nearly all of the analyzed posts on Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram lacked fact-checks or Community Notes, a crowd-sourced verification system increasingly being adopted as an alternative to professional fact-checkers, the report said. Elon Musk-owned X lacked fact-checks or Community Notes on 99 percent of the posts, while Google-owned YouTube "failed entirely," with zero fact-checks or Community Notes, CCDH said. The report noted that well-known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's false claims during the LA wildfires amassed more views on X throughout January than the combined reach of major emergency response agencies and news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times. "The rapid spread of climate conspiracies online isn't accidental. It's baked into a business model that profits from outrage and division," said Imran Ahmed, CCDH's chief executive. During the wildfires, online scammers placed social media advertisements impersonating federal emergency aid agencies to steal victims' personal information, Ahmed said, citing local officials. "When distraught people can't distinguish real help from online deception, platforms become complicit in the suffering of innocent people," he said. The tech platforms did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Following natural disasters, misinformation tends to surge across social media — fueled by accounts from across the political spectrum — as many platforms scale back content moderation and reduce reliance on human fact-checkers, often accused by conservative advocates of a liberal bias. During Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida last year, social media was flooded with baseless claims that the storm had been engineered by politicians using weather manipulation.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business Recorder
At least 20 killed as Bangladesh fighter jet crashes into school
DHAKA: A Bangladeshi fighter jet crashed into a school in the capital Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 170 in the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades. Many of the victims were young students who had just been let out of class when a Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College. An AFP photographer at the scene saw fire and rescue officials taking away the injured students on stretchers, while army personnel helped clear the mangled wreckage. A military statement said 20 people were killed, including the pilot, and 171 others injured when the jet crashed following a mechanical failure. An 18-year-old student, Shafiur Rahman Shafi, said he heard a huge blast that felt like an earthquake. 'There were two fighter planes… Suddenly one of the two planes crashed here (in the junior playground),' he told AFP. 'It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later,' he told AFP. Death toll in India plane crash rises to at least 279 The well-known private school offers education to children from kindergarten through to senior secondary. Most of the injured were aged between eight and 14, said Mohammad Maruf Islam, joint director of Dhaka's National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute where many victims were treated. Grieving relatives of the victims thronged the hospital, while dozens of volunteers lined up ready to donate blood. Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears on learning that his young cousin had been killed. 'We frantically searched for my cousin in different hospitals,' Hossain told AFP. 'He was an eighth grader at the school. Finally, we found his body.' 'Deep grief and sorrow' The military said the pilot was on a routine training mission when the jet 'reportedly encountered a mechanical failure'. 'The exact cause remains under investigation,' it said in a statement. The pilot tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas but, 'despite his best efforts', crashed into the two-storey school building, the military added. The interim government of Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday. Yunus expressed 'deep grief and sorrow' over the incident in a post on X. 'The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,' he said. 'This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.' The crash was the worst aviation accident in the country in several decades. The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board. Last month, a commercial aircraft crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was 'deeply shocked and saddened at the loss of lives' in Dhaka. Relations between the neighbours have been strained since protesters in Bangladesh last year ousted leader Sheikh Hasina, an old ally of New Delhi. 'India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance,' Modi wrote on X.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business Recorder
At least 16 killed as Bangladesh fighter jet crashes into school
DHAKA: At least 16 people, mostly students, were killed Monday when a training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed into a school campus in the capital Dhaka, in the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades. An AFP photographer at the scene saw fire and rescue officials taking away the injured students on stretchers, while military personnel helped clear the wreckage. More than 100 people were injured in the accident, with at least 83 undergoing treatment in several hospitals, the office of interim leader Muhammad Yunus said. The Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft took off at 1:06 pm (0706 GMT) and crashed soon after at the Milestone School and College campus. A witness said he heard a huge blast that felt like an earthquake. Death toll in India plane crash rises to at least 279 'We have two playgrounds, one for the senior students and one for the juniors,' said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, a student of the school. 'We were on the playground for the seniors. Suddenly one of the two fighter planes crashed here (in the junior playground),' he told AFP. 'It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later.' The interim government announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday. Grieving parents and relatives of the victims thronged the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in the capital, local media reported. Many were trying to identify their children by their uniform and other belongings. Yunus expressed 'deep grief and sorrow' over the incident in a post on X. 'The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,' he said. 'This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.' The crash was the deadliest aviation accident in the country in several decades. The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board. Last month, a commercial aircraft crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people.
