Latest news with #UNMigration
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran tells millions of Afghans to leave or face arrest on day of deadline
Millions of Afghan migrants and refugees in Iran have been asked to leave or face arrest as a deadline set by the government comes to an end. Sunday's target date neared amid public concerns over security in the aftermath of the 12-day conflict with Israel, which the United States joined with air strikes on Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities. But humanitarian organisations warned that mass deportations could further destabilise Afghanistan, one of the world's most impoverished nations. Iran is home to an estimated 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, and many have lived there for decades. In 2023, Tehran launched a campaign to expel foreigners it said were living in the country 'illegally'. In March, the Iranian government ordered that Afghans without the right to remain should leave voluntarily by Sunday or face expulsion. Since then, more than 700,000 Afghans have left, and hundreds of thousands of others face expulsion. More than 230,000 departed in June alone, the United Nations International Organization for Migration government has denied targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland to escape war, poverty and Taliban rule. Batoul Akbari, a restaurant owner, told Al Jazeera that Afghans living in Tehran were hurt by 'anti-Afghan sentiment', adding that it was heartbreaking to see 'people sent away from the only home they have ever known'. 'Being born in Iran gives us the feeling of having two homelands,' Akbari said. 'Our parents are from Afghanistan, but this is what we've always known as home.' Mohammad Nasim Mazaheri, a student whose family had to leave Iran, agreed: 'The deportations have torn families apart.' The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that Iran deported more than 30,000 Afghans on average each day during the war with Israel, up from about 2,000 earlier. 'We have always striven to be good hosts, but national security is a priority, and naturally, illegal nationals must return,' Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Tuesday. Late last month, the UNHCR said, of the 1.2 million returning Afghans, more than half had come from Iran after its government set its deadline on March 20. 'They are coming in buses, and sometimes, five buses arrive at one time with families and others, and the people are let out of the bus, and they are simply bewildered, disoriented and tired and hungry as well,' Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR representative in Afghanistan said as he described the scene at a border crossing. 'This has been exacerbated by the war, but I must say it has been part of an underlying trend that we have seen of returns from Iran, some of which are voluntary, but a large portion were also deportations.' Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said Afghans have increasingly been blamed for economic hardships, shortages and social issues in Iran. 'These accusations have been fuelled by political rhetoric and social media campaigns following 12 days of conflict between Iran and Israel and claims that Israel has recruited Afghans as spies,' he said.
Al Jazeera
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Iran tells millions of Afghans to leave or face arrest on day of deadline
Millions of Afghan migrants and refugees in Iran have been asked to leave or face arrest as a deadline set by the government comes to an end. Sunday's target date neared amid public concerns over security in the aftermath of the 12-day conflict with Israel, which the United States joined with air strikes on Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities. But humanitarian organisations warned that mass deportations could further destabilise Afghanistan, one of the world's most impoverished nations. Iran is home to an estimated 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, and many have lived there for decades. In 2023, Tehran launched a campaign to expel foreigners it said were living in the country 'illegally'. In March, the Iranian government ordered that Afghans without the right to remain should leave voluntarily by Sunday or face expulsion. Since then, more than 700,000 Afghans have left, and hundreds of thousands of others face expulsion. More than 230,000 departed in June alone, the United Nations International Organization for Migration said. The government has denied targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland to escape war, poverty and Taliban rule. Batoul Akbari, a restaurant owner, told Al Jazeera that Afghans living in Tehran were hurt by 'anti-Afghan sentiment', adding that it was heartbreaking to see 'people sent away from the only home they have ever known'. 'Being born in Iran gives us the feeling of having two homelands,' Akbari said. 'Our parents are from Afghanistan, but this is what we've always known as home.' Mohammad Nasim Mazaheri, a student whose family had to leave Iran, agreed: 'The deportations have torn families apart.' The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that Iran deported more than 30,000 Afghans on average each day during the war with Israel, up from about 2,000 earlier. 'We have always striven to be good hosts, but national security is a priority, and naturally, illegal nationals must return,' Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Tuesday. Late last month, the UNHCR said, of the 1.2 million returning Afghans, more than half had come from Iran after its government set its deadline on March 20. 'They are coming in buses, and sometimes, five buses arrive at one time with families and others, and the people are let out of the bus, and they are simply bewildered, disoriented and tired and hungry as well,' Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR representative in Afghanistan said as he described the scene at a border crossing. 'This has been exacerbated by the war, but I must say it has been part of an underlying trend that we have seen of returns from Iran, some of which are voluntary, but a large portion were also deportations.' Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said Afghans have increasingly been blamed for economic hardships, shortages and social issues in Iran. 'These accusations have been fuelled by political rhetoric and social media campaigns following 12 days of conflict between Iran and Israel and claims that Israel has recruited Afghans as spies,' he said.
Telegraph
11-06-2025
- Telegraph
Gangs use dangerous new tactic to smuggle Channel migrants
People-smuggling gangs have adopted a new 'dangerous' tactic of simultaneous migrant boat launches to outwit French police, the EU border agency has warned. In an official update, Frontex, which has committed aerial surveillance and extra staff to the Channel, said smuggling networks providing the small boats were adapting their tactics in order to increase the number of successful crossings. They have already switched to using 'taxi boats' where dinghies are sailed from inland rivers and waterways to pick up migrants in the shallow waters off the beaches. But Frontex said the smuggling gangs were also using 'simultaneous departures'. It said: 'This tactic puts more lives at risk in an already dangerous stretch of water as it hinders the search and rescue efforts of the national authorities.' The risks are compounded by the increasing numbers of migrants being crammed into the flimsy dinghies. There were 54 migrants per boat in the year ending March 2025, compared with 50 in 2024 and 29 in the year to March 2022, according to Home Office data. According to estimates by the UN's International Organisation for Migration, a record 82 migrants including 14 children died in attempts to cross the Channel in 2024. Although, officials believe this is an underestimate with dozens more reported missing over the year. At least 12 have died so far this year. Some 14,812 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in more than 260 boats, up nearly 32 per cent on the same period last year. It represents a record high for the first six months of any year since the first boats arrived in 2018. On Wednesday, dozens of migrants in small boats reached the UK as people smugglers took advantage of the first good weather and calmer seas since May 31 when a record 1,195 people were intercepted. It is expected to push crossings past 15,000 for 2025. French police are currently preparing to intercept migrant boats at sea for the first time and have committed six new patrol boats to the naval forces that will serve to rescue migrants and target the 'taxi boats'. The French interior ministry says it will aim to intercept boats within 300 metres of the beaches to stop them leaving for the UK loaded with migrants. Until now, the French have refused to intervene in the water because they claim maritime laws prevent them from taking action that could put lives at sea at risk. But government sources said ministers overseeing migration policy had given the green light to do so while 'respecting' the 'law of the sea'. The surge in crossings across the Channel come despite a drop in migrants coming into Europe from the east and the west. The number of people coming into Europe via eastern Mediterranean routes fell by 30 per cent to 15,600 in the first five months of this year. The number coming from western Africa was down 35 per cent to 11,065, while routes through the western Balkans dropped by 56 per cent to 4,055. The biggest migrant route – across the central Mediterranean from Libya and northern Africa to Italy – remained constant, with an increase of seven per cent to 22,675. This was similar to the western Mediterranean into Spain route which saw a six per cent rise to 5,058. Frontex attributed the decrease in the western African route to 'stronger border controls and migration policies in Mauritania, poor weather conditions, and enhanced cooperation between the EU and countries of departure.' Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: '15,000 illegal Channel crossings and its only June – 2025 is the worst year ever for small boat crossings so far. 'While traffickers and criminal gangs rake in millions, Labour Ministers stand in Westminster rehearsing soundbites. This is a total collapse of border control. 'How many more records does Keir Starmer need to break before he finally admits his plan is failing? He should never have scrapped the removals deterrent the previous Conservative Government put in place. 'Only the Conservatives have a serious, deliverable plan to end ECHR obstructions, introduce a binding annual cap on migration, implement measures to actually deter these crossings, and restore control of who comes into this country. Britain cannot wait any longer.'
