Kurdpa: 17 Kolbers Have Been Killed Since the Beginning of the Year

The news agency "Kurdpa" reported on Wednesday, May 30, that since the beginning of the year 1403 (2024), 17 kolbers have been killed in the northwestern and western provinces of Iran, six of whom were under 18 years old. According to Kurdpa, 11 of these kolbers were killed by direct fire from the Islamic Republic's military forces, two due to frostbite, three after falling from heights while being chased by military forces, and one due to a heart attack while kolbering. The report indicated that the highest number of kolber deaths occurred at the Nowsud and Baneh borders. The news agency also stated that in a span of 70 days, over 80 kolbers have been injured. Kurdpa noted that the number of kolber deaths and injuries in this 70-day period represents "the highest rate of kolber killings in the past 13 years." The agency added that based on statistics recorded by the Kurdpa Human Rights Organization, a total of 2,463 kolbers have been killed or injured in the northwestern and western provinces of Iran from 1390 to 1402 (2011 to 2023). In this context, over 74% of kolbers were killed or injured due to gunfire from the Islamic Republic's military forces, and 64 of the kolbers were under 18 years old. Previously, "Kolbernews" reported that in the year 1402, 444 kolbers in border areas and inter-road routes of the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah were killed or injured due to factors such as direct gunfire from regime forces, avalanches, frostbite, stepping on landmines, falling from mountains and heights, and other causes. According to Kolbernews, 373 of the injured or killed in the last solar year, or 84% of them, were targeted by "direct gunfire" from armed agents of the Islamic Republic. Additionally, 37 of the total 444 kolbers who were victims in the last solar year were children under 18 years old. Armed agents of the Islamic Republic, primarily the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have targeted hundreds of kolbers and Kurdish traders under the pretext of "fighting smuggling" over the past decades. In many cases, relevant Iranian authorities have promoted the perpetrators of these shootings instead of holding them accountable in response to complaints and follow-ups from the victims' families. Images from the funeral of Sina Rasoulzadeh, a 19-year-old kolber who was killed, show that the IRGC killed a young man from Marivan on suspicion of "carrying smuggled goods." Another young kolber was shot dead by Islamic Republic agents at the Baneh border, and Ata Rostampour, a married kolber with three children, was also killed by the IRGC's gunfire.