Over 230,000 Afghans leave Iran in June: UN
More than 230,000 Afghans left Iran in June, most of them deported, as returns surge ahead of a deadline set by Tehran, the United Nations migration agency said on Monday.
The number of returns from Iran rose dramatically in recent weeks. Afghans have reported increased deportations ahead of the July 6 deadline announced by Iran for undocumented Afghans to leave the country, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
From June 1-28, 233,941 people returned from Iran to Afghanistan, International Organization for Migration spokesman Avand Azeez Agha told AFP, with 131,912 returns recorded in the week of June 21-28 alone.
Since January, "691,049 people have returned, 70 percent of whom were forcibly sent back", he added.
For several days last week, the number reached 30,000 per day, the IOM said, with numbers expected to increase ahead of the deadline.
The recent returns have been marked by a sharp increase in the number of families instead of individuals, the UN said, with men, women and children lugging suitcases carrying all their belongings.
Many have few assets and few prospects for work, with Afghanistan facing entrenched poverty and steep unemployment.
The country is four years into a fragile recovery from decades of war under Taliban authorities, who have called for a "dignified" return of migrants and refugees from neighbouring countries.
Kabul's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi raised the Taliban government's concerns in a meeting with Iran's ambassador, according to a statement, saying: "A coordinated mechanism should be put in place for the gradual return of migrants."
The cash-strapped government faces challenges in integrating the influx of returnees, which has piled on to hundreds of thousands also forced out in recent years from Pakistan -- another traditional host of Afghans fleeing conflict and humanitarian crises.
Severe international aid cuts have also hamstrung UN and NGO responses, with the IOM saying it was "only able to assist a fraction of those in need".
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