There is no available information on the fate of Ahmad Mahmoudi, Arslan Omidi, and Mohammad Hasani, three kolbars who were arrested by Kurdistan Region’s Asayish (security forces). One of them was wounded by Asayish forces.
According to Kolbarnews, on Sunday, February 16, 2025, Asayish forces in the Kurdistan Region opened fire on three Kolbars near the Mervi border area, severely injuring one of them in the back and lower back.
The injured Kolbar has been identified as 23-year-old Ahmad Mahmoudi from the village of Abolhassan, near Baneh. He was transferred to a hospital in Sulaymaniyah for medical treatment.
The identities of the other two arrested Kolbars have been confirmed by Kolbarnews as Arslan Omidi from Mahabad and 20-year-old Mohammad Hasani from Baneh.
These kolbars had entered the Kurdistan Region through the “Zeli” border in Sardasht and were targeted and arrested by Asayish forces upon reaching the Mervi border area.
Based on statistics recorded by Kolbarnews, in 2024, a total of 345 Kolbars (border porters) in the border areas and inter-road routes of the West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces were killed or injured due to factors such as direct gunfire from regime military forces, avalanches and frostbite, stepping on landmines, falling from mountains and heights, and other incidents. Of this total, 59 Kolbars (17%) were killed, and 286 Kolbars (83%) were injured.Among the 345 Kolbars killed or injured in 2024, 259 cases (75%) were due to direct gunfire from regime military forces. Additionally, 22 of the total (6%) were child Kolbars under 18 years old, one of whom died as a result of frostbite.
