IRGC unit on March 26, 2018, opened fire and killed a Kurdish porter by the name of Ibrahim Soleimani, father of five.
A video footage shows his colleagues desperately trying to save his life in Sardasht border area in West Azerbaijan Province.
At least three porters were also shot and wounded in the same area during the past few days as the IRGC unit opened fire on them.
Reports indicate that on Saturday March 24, a group of Kurd porters were ambushed by military forces on the border of Sardasht and a porter identified as 37-year-old Loqman Mohammadzadeh, was severely wounded in the thigh and stomach and was taken to Sardasht Hospital.
Other reports indicate that on Sunday March 18, another porter identified only by his first name as Mohammad from Oskook Village in Marivan, who was fleeing military forces, fell from a mountain ridge and was severely injured.
Tehran’s devastating policies and rampant corruption are forcing people into such difficult jobs at a high risk to their lives to earn a living for their families.
More than 68,000 porters are working in Iran’s border provinces, of which 16,000 to 18,000 are in Piranshahr and Sardasht, official statistics indicate.
Unofficial sources however estimate the actual number of porters to be around 350 to 500 thousand in border provinces.
Border porters include children, youths and the elderly. In addition to natural disasters such as avalanches and frostbite, or accidents like drowning in the river or falling into the valleys, they are constantly threatened by direct shooting of the regime’s security forces.
According to a recent study at least 46 porters and petty tradesmen have been shot dead and 58 wounded by the state forces only during the period spanning from March 2017 to March 2018.
