A traffic accident in western Afghanistan has resulted in the deaths of 79 individuals, including 17 children, according to a spokesperson from the Taliban’s interior ministry. The incident occurred on a bus transporting Afghan migrants who had been deported from Iran. This vehicle was en route to Kabul when it collided with a truck and motorcycle in Herat province and subsequently caught fire.
It has been reported that everyone on the bus died, alongside two occupants from the other vehicles involved. Ahmadullah Mottaqi, the Taliban’s director of information and culture in Herat, provided this information to BBC Pashto. The provincial governor’s spokesman, Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi, stated that all passengers were migrants who had boarded the bus in Islam Qala, a town located near the Afghanistan-Iran border.
Herat police have indicated that the accident may have been caused by “excessive speed and negligence” on the part of the bus driver. Traffic accidents in Afghanistan are not uncommon due to poor road conditions resulting from prolonged conflict and a lack of stringent enforcement of driving regulations.
In recent months, Iran has intensified the deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants who have fled the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. Since the 1970s, millions of Afghans have sought refuge in Iran and Pakistan, particularly during periods of instability in their home country, leading to a rise in anti-Afghan sentiment in Iran.
The Iranian government has enforced deadlines for undocumented Afghans to leave voluntarily. Following a brief conflict with Israel in June, Iranian authorities have forcibly returned many Afghans, citing national security concerns. According to the UN Refugee Agency, over 1.5 million Afghans have departed Iran since January, and experts have warned that Afghanistan may struggle to accommodate the increasing number of returnees under the current Taliban government.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c336jj5xkvko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss