Reports emerging from Kurdish sources reveal that in the past 24 hours, at least two young Kolbars (freight porters who carry heavy loads for a living) fell victim to fatal gunfire by Iranian regime border forces.
Tragic incidents unfolded on Saturday evening, April 13, with Mehrdad Abdollahzadeh, hailing from Marghan village in the Sardasht district, losing his life due to gunfire from state guards, followed by a fatal fall from a height.
Around 9 PM on Saturday, without prior warning, military personnel opened fire directly at a group of kulbars in the mountainous regions near Bitush village, also in the Sardasht district.
In the ensuing chaos, 20-year-old Mehdi Abdollahzadeh, a kulbar, sustained injuries from military gunfire and tragically plummeted from the heights of Bitush, succumbing to his wounds.
Tragically, another incident occurred on the same evening, as Omid Saeedi, a Sanandaj resident, lost his life due to gunfire from government guards at the Bastam border in Saqqez.
Following an eight-hour search by locals, the body of Saeedi, a kulbar hailing from Kanidareh village in the Dehgolan district, was recovered and transferred to the legal medical center in Saqqez.
These incidents shed light on the perilous nature of kulbars, a profession undertaken out of necessity by Kurdish citizens, involving the transport of heavy loads through rugged mountainous terrains to support their families. Tragically, this arduous journey often puts them at risk of attacks by state security forces and border officials, resulting in significant casualties among these hardworking individuals.
#Iran Regime Fires on Border Couriers and Slaughters Dozens of Horses
Over the weekend, the Iranian regime’s security forces killed& injured a number of impoverishes border couriers, known as ‘Kulbars’, &slaughtered some 200 of their horses in….https://t.co/AjKFhPiJEm pic.twitter.com/oekEZZ2RX2— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) May 22, 2018
Statistics from Kurdish sources spanning the past 13 years (2011-2023) underscore the severity of the situation, with 2463 Kolbars killed or injured in Kurdish-inhabited cities. The overwhelming majority, more than 74%, fell victim to military gunfire, with 64 individuals under the age of 18.
The summary killings of Kurdish kulbars and Baluchi fuel porters, reported by human rights organizations in 2022, highlight the ongoing crisis, with 46 individuals, predominantly killed by direct gunfire from government forces, and dozens more injured. The dire situation persists, with 2023 marking the deadliest year for kulbars in Kurdish border areas in the past 12 years, while fuel porters in Sistan and Baluchestan Province faced a similar plight, with at least 513 individuals losing their lives or sustaining injuries in pursuit of their livelihoods.
