On Thursday, November 13, a group of young men from Herat and Farah set out for Iran through irregular routes, hoping to find work. Several days later, on December 2, news emerged that 11 of them had been shot and killed by Iranian border guards. Mohammad Naseem Badri, spokesperson for the Farah Police Command, told the media that the group was targeted near Border Marker 78 while attempting to cross into Iran.
A day later, on December 3, dozens of residents from Shindand and Zirkooh districts gathered in front of the Herat Directorate of Information and Culture after receiving the bodies of nine victims. They held a public protest demanding accountability and a transparent investigation.
Speaking to Khate-Nakhost, Samiullah Haqani, a resident of Shindand, said that all nine victims were from impoverished families in Shindand and Zirkooh who had no employment opportunities and felt forced to migrate illegally. “We are here so the media can carry our voices to the United Nations and human rights organizations,” he said. “These killings must stop. These young men were only seeking work. They were neither smugglers nor part of any criminal networks.”
Another protester, Mohabbatullah from Zirkooh, said that Iranian forces must not open fire on people who enter the country solely to find jobs. “They could have been arrested and deported, not killed,” he said. He claimed the young men were first detained and later shot at close range. He urged the Afghan government to create job opportunities and to engage with Iran to prevent similar incidents.
Mohammad Ismail, another resident of Shindand, said the killings occurred 15 to 20 days earlier, but Iran delivered the bodies only recently, at night and through the Islam Qala border crossing. “Not a single body was handed over during daylight,” he said, calling on the Afghan government and international organizations to stop such “crimes.”
After nearly an hour of public display and media coverage of the protest, the bodies were transported back to the victims’ home districts.
On Thursday, December 4, the Herat governor’s office announced that Governor Noor Ahmad Islamjar met with officials from the Iranian Consulate and handed them a formal letter of protest. The governor said the killing of 11 Afghan citizens had caused widespread anger and distress among the public.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior stated that a fact-finding committee has been formed to investigate the incident in detail.
Many residents believe that obtaining Iranian work visas has become increasingly difficult, pushing more young people toward illegal crossings. As a result, reports of mistreatment — and at times deadly force — by Iranian border guards frequently make headlines.
Amid these tensions, the 207 Al-Farooq Corps in western Afghanistan announced that in the past week alone, security forces detained 527 individuals attempting to cross the borders of Herat illegally into Iran or Turkmenistan.
