5,000 Afghan refugees cross into Iran daily

"Thousands of exhausted women, children and men cross from Afghanistan to Iran every day in search of safety," said Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

The Norwegian Refugee Council reported that between four and five thousand Afghans cross daily to Iran after the Taliban movement took control of the country, calling for increased support to Tehran to enable it to provide for humanitarian needs.

"Thousands of exhausted women, children and men cross from Afghanistan to Iran every day in search of safety," said Council Secretary General Jan Egeland

He added: "We cannot expect Iran to host this number of Afghans with this limited support from the international community," in a statement by the organization on the sidelines of its Secretary-General's visit to Iran this week.

According to the council, Iran is one of the countries in the world hosting refugees, especially Afghans, as their number, before the current events, was estimated at about 3.5 million Afghans.

He pointed out that between four and five thousand Afghans daily cross the border separating the two countries, which extends for about 900 km.

This comes despite Iran's suffering from an economic crisis that is primarily due to US sanctions, in addition to the Corona pandemic, which Iran is most affected by in the Middle East.

Egeland stressed the need to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and neighboring countries hosting refugees "before the bitter cold of winter."

In a video posted on Twitter on Tuesday, the Secretary-General said during his visit to an Afghan refugee camp in Kerman province, central Iran, "I think that the world has not yet understood the extent of the crisis in the entire region."

He pointed out that about 300,000 people have crossed into Iran since the Taliban took control of Kabul last August, coinciding with the withdrawal of US forces after a nearly two-decade presence.

On Tuesday, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi had expressed Tehran's fear that the number of new refugees would reach about "one million people."

In a meeting organized by the judiciary with representatives of diplomatic missions in Tehran, he added that Afghans "when their economy collapses and they do not receive any assistance, they head towards the border" with Iran.

He continued, "They are refugees that we respect and cherish, but the numbers are very large: Currently we have 3.5 million Afghan refugees in the country who benefit from all the financial aid that reaches the Iranians, why does no one help the Afghans (in a way) that allows them to stay in their country, and they do not have to leave their homes and head to the border?

The statement of the Norwegian Council, which works to provide aid to Afghan refugees in Iran, said that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has requested about $300 million to assist up to 515,000 Afghans expected to seek refuge in neighboring countries by the end of 2021.

He pointed out that "only 32%" of this request has been provided so far, explaining that about 136 million of the total amount is needed to help Afghans in Iran.

The total number of Afghan refugees reaches five million people, 90% of whom are distributed between Iran and Afghanistan, according to figures from the Norwegian Council.