Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Iran Expresses Regret for Shooting Afghan Migrants


Iran has expressed regret for the shooting deaths of Afghan migrants entering the country illegally over the weekend. On Saturday, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul issued a complaint after 10 migrants were shot and killed by Iranian border guards.

Iran’s new foreign minister spokesman Abbas Aragchi expressed Iran’s regret.

“We express regret while offering sympathy to relatives of victims if innocent people were harmed when passing through Iran illegally,” said Aragchi. (AP, 14 May)

Iran initially denied that anyone was shot. Poor Afghans sneak into Iran in search for work, often as day laborers. About 2 million Afghan migrants have been working in Iran since the late 1970s.

Photo credit: Afghan refugees leave Iran for Turkey (AP/The National, 14 May)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If more than 500 Afghans were rushing the border throwing stones, what else did they expect? Afghans should be grateful to Iran for accepting over 2.5 million refugees and keeping them in good condition. They should see how Pakistan behaves towards the Afghans.