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Afghan woman dies from the cold along Iran-Turkey border
Residents of the village of Balasour in Iran found two children next to their mother’s body on the border between Iran and Turkey, foreign media outlets reported.
Several Iranian and Turkish media outlets, including CNN Turk and Iranwire, quoted officials as saying that an Afghan woman who had tried to enter Turkey illegally died of cold but her two children aged eight and nine survived.
Footage released from this rural area also shows two young children, a girl and a boy, in a state of despair due to heavy snow and cold, and locals giving them hot water and food, RFE/RL reported.
According to RFE/RL the Turkish province of Van confirmed the death of the Afghan refugee woman in a statement on Sunday evening.
The statement said: “On January 1, reports of the death of a mother with her two children were made available in border areas while trying to enter Turkey via Iran. The woman’s children were rescued by locals.”
“It was later revealed that the death took place outside Turkey in Iranian territory in the village of Balasour. This village is located near the Turkish border. The body of this woman and her two living children were handed over to Iranian soldiers by local authorities.”
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry and the Afghan Embassy in Iran have not yet commented on the incident.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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