Kolbar Fardin Veysi was severely injured by gunfire from Iranian border guards in the Hangeh-ye Zhal border area of Baneh, Kurdistan Province, on 6 April.
Veysi was among a group of kolbars who were shot by border guards with pellet guns at close range and without warning, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
He sustained serious injuries to his abdomen and hand from the pellet bullets and was taken to Salahuddin Ayoubi Hospital in Baneh for medical treatment.
Statistics compiled by the KHRN reveal that in the Iranian year 1402 (21 March 2023 – 19 March 2024), at least 39 Kurdish kolbars died in the border areas of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces. Among them, 27 kolbars, including one child, were directly shot by the military forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and one person was shot by Iraqi border forces.
Additionally, at least 356 kolbars in the border regions of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces suffered injuries and severe harm. Among them, 311 individuals, including 15 children, were shot by the military forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, eight were assaulted, six fell from heights during pursuits by these forces, and five were injured by the shooting of Iraqi border guards.
