In the aftermath of a collision between two vehicles and a subsequent military shooting and chase, five Baloch citizens, including two children and a Sukhtbar, lost their lives.
According to Kolbarnews, early Saturday morning on July 14, 2024, military forces shot at a Sukhtbari vehicle on the Rudbar South highway, causing it to collide with another passing vehicle. As a result, five people, including a Sukhtbar and two children, perished in the ensuing fire.
The deceased Sukhtbar has been identified as “Saman Narouei,” a 22-year-old, residing in Rudbar South. The other four victims were members of a family (father, mother, and two young children) from Jiroft.
The report states that around 4 AM on the Kahnooj-Rudbar road, near Bahadorabad Bridge, military forces opened fire on a Saipa vehicle carrying fuel. The shooting caused the vehicle to veer off the main road and collide with another car carrying the family (the Eftekhari family), resulting in all occupants of both vehicles dying in the flames.
Sukhtbari is considered an unconventional and hazardous job that many Baluch people in Baluchistan are forced into due to the lack of suitable and stable employment. Accidents, vehicle rollovers, and direct shootings by military and security forces are some of the dangers that Sukhtbars face.
According to reports from Baluch activists, in the first six months of 2024, at least 133 Baluch Sukhtbars have died from shootings by military forces, traffic accidents, and vehicle fires, with another 80 injured in these incidents, including nine children.
