‘Emergency’: The influx of Afghans returning from Iran to their country before the deadline; 250,000 already returned in June

In the days before setting a return deadline for Sunday, according to the United Nations, thousands of Afghans crossed the border from Iran, leading to a “emergency” position on the border crossing.Iranian officials said that out of six million Afghans living in Iran, nearly four million may be affected by the end of May, they were asked to leave the country by 6 July.Representative of UNICEF in Afghanistan, Tajudin Oywell called the situation a “emergency” in a country, already facing “chronic returns crisis”. He said that 1.4 million Afghans have returned from host countries like Iran and Pakistan this year.Men, women and even the whole family are crossing the border with less money or goods. Oywell on Thursday asked for news agency AFP, “It is related to 25 percent of these returns … because demographics have been transferred.”The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR said on Friday that the number of people crossing the border has increased from mid -June. On 1 July, around 43,000 people crossed the Islam Kala border in Herat province. According to the United Nations Migration Agency (IOM), more than 250,000 Afghans returned from Iran alone in June.“When you start killing more than 20,000 people (one day), which is completely beyond the planning scenario that we have,” Oywell said. He explained that Islam can handle a large number of people while crossing the border in Kala, it struggles to provide services.The United Nations is improving water and hygiene facilities for 7,000–10,000 people in the United Nations. This vaccination campaign is also running, providing nutrition aid, and setting up spaces for children.The risk of many Afghans is being deported or arrested. 38 -year -old Hey Atai told AFP, “Some are so afraid that they do not leave themselves … They send their young children out just for a piece of bread, and even those children are arrested sometime.”The United Nations, International Support Groups and Taliban officials have sought more support for returns. Foreign assistance to Afghanistan has been drastically cut in recent years. The United Nations has urged countries not to force the Afghans to return, saying that the country is already struggling with poverty, high unemployment and climate change.The Taliban controlled Afghanistan in 2021 after the US and NATO forces returned.