KABUL (SW) – A number of Kabul residents took to the street to protest in response to the persecution of Afghan refugees in Iran.
The protesters call on the United Nations and other international organizations not to remain silent in the face of the oppression and mistreatment of Afghan refugees.
Zahir Khan Zurmati, one of the organizers of the protest, said the Islamic Emirate should address the plight of the refugees in Iran through diplomacy as soon as possible.
The protesters emphasized that if the ill-treatment and violence against Afghan citizens in Iran continued, the scope of protests will increase.
Meanwhile, widespread protests in Herat, Kabul and Khost provinces against Iranian political representations in Afghanistan took place yesterday as well. Protesters in Herat set fire to the entrance door of the Iranian consulate and hurled stones at its building.
In response to the protests, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced today that it had summoned the charge d’affaires of the Afghan embassy in Tehran. A statement from the ministry said that the services of the Iranian consulate in Afghanistan had been suspended until Afghanistan provided the necessary assurances for the full security of Iran’s consular units in Afghanistan.
In recent days, viral video have been posted on social media showing the harassment of Afghan citizens in Iran. The Iranian government, however, denies the videos, saying the clips were released as intended to spoil relations between the two countries.
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