Kurdistan: Assaults Continue on Kurdish Courier Workers
09:27 - 9 July 2015
Kurdpa: Armed assaults on Kurdish courier workers (Kolbars) continues, and the latest attack and direct shooting in Sardasht border region, has injured one Kolbar.
Kurdistan Press Agency, Kurdpa, has learned that on July 6 ‘Navid,’ another Kurdish courier worker (Kolbar), was shot and injured by Iranian border guards in the city of Sardasht in Eastern Kurdistan.
Navid is from the city of Sardasht in Wurme (West Azerbijan) Province and the attack took place in Shalmash district, in the suburbs of Sardasht.
According to eye-witnesses, the injured Kolbar wasn’t carrying illegal products; in fact, many Kolbars carry household appliances, such as electronics, home furnishing, beauty supplies and tires.
Following the attack on the group of Kolbars, local residents of Shalmash confronted security forces, said Campaign for Defence of Political and Civil Prisoners.
Navid is one of the thousands of Kurdish Kolbars working between the borders of Southern and Eastern Kurdistan for very low wages. He is one of the many Kolbars who have been injured or killed due to indiscriminate shooting by the Iranian Border Guards, according to reports by human rights organizations and news agencies in the region.
The lack of employment opportunities, weak economic infrastructure and development has resulted in high poverty rates in the Kurdish region of Iran. Many argue that as a response to the lack of employment opportunities, people in the region are left with no choice but to accept these dangerous labour conditions.
Reports from local and national human rights organizations suggest that the weight of the goods carried between the borders are often heavier than the Kolbar’s individual weight. It has been further reported that the Kolbars would leave the trade if other employment opportunities were made available in the region.
Several days ago, in separate attacks by Iranian regime border guards in Piranshar, 90 kilometres away from Sardasht, one Kolbar died and three others were injured.
To date, Kurdpa has documented the deaths of 10 Kolbars and 11 injured since March 21, 2015 – the start of the Iranian New year of 94.
Writing by Kurdpa Staff Writers, translation by Kajal Mohammadi and editing by Sharmin Hassaniani.
Kurdistan Press Agency, Kurdpa, has learned that on July 6 ‘Navid,’ another Kurdish courier worker (Kolbar), was shot and injured by Iranian border guards in the city of Sardasht in Eastern Kurdistan.
Navid is from the city of Sardasht in Wurme (West Azerbijan) Province and the attack took place in Shalmash district, in the suburbs of Sardasht.
According to eye-witnesses, the injured Kolbar wasn’t carrying illegal products; in fact, many Kolbars carry household appliances, such as electronics, home furnishing, beauty supplies and tires.
Following the attack on the group of Kolbars, local residents of Shalmash confronted security forces, said Campaign for Defence of Political and Civil Prisoners.
Navid is one of the thousands of Kurdish Kolbars working between the borders of Southern and Eastern Kurdistan for very low wages. He is one of the many Kolbars who have been injured or killed due to indiscriminate shooting by the Iranian Border Guards, according to reports by human rights organizations and news agencies in the region.
The lack of employment opportunities, weak economic infrastructure and development has resulted in high poverty rates in the Kurdish region of Iran. Many argue that as a response to the lack of employment opportunities, people in the region are left with no choice but to accept these dangerous labour conditions.
Reports from local and national human rights organizations suggest that the weight of the goods carried between the borders are often heavier than the Kolbar’s individual weight. It has been further reported that the Kolbars would leave the trade if other employment opportunities were made available in the region.
Several days ago, in separate attacks by Iranian regime border guards in Piranshar, 90 kilometres away from Sardasht, one Kolbar died and three others were injured.
To date, Kurdpa has documented the deaths of 10 Kolbars and 11 injured since March 21, 2015 – the start of the Iranian New year of 94.
Writing by Kurdpa Staff Writers, translation by Kajal Mohammadi and editing by Sharmin Hassaniani.
