Several Kolbars have gone missing after being caught in a severe snowstorm and freezing temperatures in the border region of Baneh.
According to Kolbarnews, early on Saturday, December 28, 2024, a number of Kolbars were trapped by heavy snowfall and extreme cold in the mountainous border region of Bistam, located in the Sarshiv district of Saqqez. So far, there is no information about their fate.
Reports indicate that local residents and Red Crescent rescue teams are searching the area to locate the missing Kolbars.
The lack of solar panels and batteries for telecommunications towers has caused mobile networks to lose signal during power outages in the region, further complicating communication with the trapped individuals.
According to registered statistics from Kolbarnews, in the first six months of 1403, a total of 142 Kolbars in border areas and interroad routes of the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah were killed or injured due to various factors such as direct shooting by military forces, avalanches, frostbite, stepping on landmines, falling from heights, and other incidents. Of these, a total of 36 Kolbars (25%) were killed, and 106 Kolbars (75%) were injured. Among the 142 Kolbars who were killed or injured in the first half of 2024, 124 cases (87%) were due to direct shooting or beating by military forces. Furthermore, 10 of these Kolbars were children under the age of 18. Compared to the same period in 2023, there has been a 67% increase in the number of Kolbars killed and injured along the Kurdish border.
