IRIN
IRAN: Afghan repatriation convoys resume
24 August 2004


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

ANKARA, 24 August (IRIN) - Convoys of returning Afghans from Iran have 
resumed after a temporary suspension of two days due to insecurity around 
the western Afghan city of Herat which left some 13,000 Afghan returnees 
stranded on both sides of the border.

"The normal repatriation convoys from Iran have resumed," Xavier Creach, a 
spokesman for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR), told IRIN from the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Tuesday. 
"The backlog of returnees stranded on the border inside Iran was cleared 
on Friday and Saturday, with a resumption of new convoys beginning on 
Sunday."

UNHCR temporarily suspended convoys from Iran on 17 August following 
fierce fighting between troops loyal to Herat governor Ismail Khan and 
militias loyal to a rival leader. Many roads in and out of the ancient 
city had been blocked.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, expressed concern over 
the temporary disruption of the repatriation, and the impact of the 
fighting on returning Afghans, stressing that those who had made the brave 
choice to return home deserved peace and stability.

In recent weeks, up to 4,000 Afghans a day had been making the journey 
back from Iran, according to the UN refugee agency.

Herat is the primary entry point for Afghan returnees from Iran. After 
passing through the Iranian border town of Dogharoun in northeastern 
Khorasan province, the country's main crossing point along the 936 km 
frontier with Afghanistan, returnees continue onward to all parts of 
Afghanistan.

But insecurity in the area last week prompted UNHCR to suspend its 
operations in the area, resulting in a major logistics challenge for 
thousands stranded on both sides of the border. Some 9,500 were stuck in 
Herat in UNHCR transit camps designed to accommodate no more than 4,000, 
while another 3,500 had to wait on the Iranian side of the border.

"It was a very difficult situation," Creach explained. Alongside the 
Iranian authorities, UNHCR worked throughout the night to provide 
emergency assistance and shelter to those in need, he added.

With the suspension of violence and a ceasefire between the warring 
factions, however, UNHCR succeeded in arranging safe passage to those 
returnees wishing to travel to the north of the country beginning on 
Thursday, while those wishing to travel to the south of the country did so 
on Friday and Saturday.

On Sunday, 3,577 new returnees passed through the Iranian border town of 
Dogharoun, with 3,529 on Monday, Creach said, adding close to 1 million 
Afghans had returned from Iran since the start of the voluntary 
repatriation effort on 9 April 2002; over 330,000 alone in the first six 
months of this year.

As part of that assistance effort, returnees register at one of 11 
voluntary repatriation centres (VRCs) located throughout Iran - including 
the cities of Mashhad, Qom, Esfahan, Kerman, Shiraz, Yazd, Arak, Zabol and 
Zahedan, as well as two in Tehran. There they are provided with an 
assistance package, including a small monetary grant to facilitate their 
return.

In a parallel effort, more than 2 million Afghans have returned from 
Pakistan, the other primary host country to Afghan refugees today.


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004


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