Iranian border guards kill kolbar near Baneh: Watchdog
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A kolbar was killed by 'direct fire' from Iranian security forces near the Kurdish city of Baneh in western Iran on Thursday, a human rights watchdog reported.
'Sina Rostampour, a young Kolbar from Baneh, was killed by direct fire from the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the border heights of that city' on the eve of Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, said the Oslo-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
Rostampour, a father of one, was 'shot in the chest' by Iranian security forces and 'died immediately,' according to Hengaw.
Kolbars are semi-legal porters who transport untaxed goods across the Kurdistan Region-Iran border and sometimes the Iran-Turkey border. They are constantly targeted by Iranian border guards and are sometimes victims of natural disasters.
Many kolbars are pushed into the profession by poverty and a lack of alternative employment, particularly in Iran's Kurdish provinces. Families of kolbars greatly suffer from attacks by Iranian border guards, as the transport of goods is often the household's primary source of income.
At least 57 kolbars were killed by Iranian security forces in the border areas and 282 were injured in 2024, according to Hengaw's annual report.
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