A kolbar was killed by “direct fire” from Iranian security forces at the heights of Nowsud in Iran’s Kermanshah province near the Kurdistan Region border, according to a report from a human rights watchdog on Monday.

The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights identified the deceased as Salas Babajani. The watchdog reported that Babajani was shot by border troops from the Islamic Republic of Iran stationed at the Nowsud border. In addition, four other kolbars were injured in the incident.

Kolbars, semi-legal porters who transport untaxed goods across the Kurdistan Region-Iran and sometimes the Iran-Turkey borders, are frequently targeted by Iranian border guards. These porters often risk their lives due to economic necessity, driven by poverty and a lack of alternative employment, especially in Iran's Kurdish provinces. The income from transporting goods is often critical for their families' survival.

Hengaw highlighted that in May alone, at least eight kolbars were killed by Iranian security forces, doubling the number from April, which saw four fatalities.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network, based in Paris, reported that in 2023, a total of 29 kolbars died, with at least 19 killed by Iranian border guards. Hengaw's estimates for the same year noted that 33 kolbars lost their lives, and 176 were wounded due to direct fire from Iranian forces, while at least 35 died from accidents.