Thousands of Afghans flee Iran to escape war

Thousands of Afghans are fleeing Iran every day to escape deportation and war, a major international aid agency and Taliban official said Friday.

Millions of Afghans have called Iran home for decades. But they have been leaving in large numbers since October 2023, when authorities announced a crackdown on foreigners who it said were in the country illegally. Neighbouring Pakistan launched a similar campaign around the same time.

Iran’s war with Israel, which started last Friday, is also forcing them to flee as Israeli strikes target the country.

Some 5,000 Afghans are returning daily through the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province, according to the aid agency World Vision International.

There were people “at risk, distressed, and in great need” among the 500,000 forcibly returned from Iran to Herat this year, the agency said.

“Many require support to find food and shelter, get hold of everyday essentials, and connect with their families before travelling to their hometowns or villages,” said Mark Calder, the agency’s communications and advocacy director for Afghanistan. “But they are returning to a country in which basic services are already in crisis.”

Swinging US aid cuts and a shortfall in funding for humanitarian assistance have closed hundreds of health facilities and reduced other essential services like education.

The UN said on Thursday that the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan had received just 18% of its annual funding by June 19, disrupting the delivery of aid to millions, including women and children, returnees, refugees, displaced communities and other vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Calder warned that the number needing lifesaving aid could “spiral further” if the international community did not look to support emergency needs and Afghans’ efforts to start over in their homeland.

Ahmadullah Muttaqi, head of Herat’s Refugee Information and Public Affairs Committee, on Friday told The Associated Press that before June 13 between 3,500 and 4,000 Afghans without documentation were entering the province daily because of Iran’s deportation drive. This figure has doubled since the outbreak of the war.

Associated Press