The head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, stated after his visit to the Islam Qala border crossing that the large-scale return of Afghan refugees from Iran is a matter of concern.
He said that Afghan refugees are returning to Afghanistan empty-handed, with nothing but a single set of clothes, and are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance inside the country.
He stated:
“We are facing an emergency situation here, but this time it is different; people are returning to their country, yet I must say that many of them are not doing so voluntarily, but rather are being forcibly deported.”
According to Grandi, so far, around 1.5 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan from Iran.
