Afghanistan Finds 17 Bodies of Migrants Drowned by Iran Border Guards

Afghanistan Finds 17 Bodies of Migrants Drowned by Iran Border Guards
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Afghanistan Finds 17 Bodies of Migrants Drowned by Iran Border Guards

Afghanistan Finds 17 Bodies of Migrants Drowned by Iran Border Guards

Afghan authorities said on Thursday they had recovered 12 more bodies of migrants who were thrown into a river by Iranian border guards this month to stop them from entering the country, bringing the incident's death toll to 17.

Afghan officials and survivors now say a group of about 50 men from Herat province who were trying to enter Iran were detained by its border guards and later forced into the Harirud river shared between Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

"Fifty Afghans were thrown into the river. Seventeen bodies have been found so far," Abdul Ghani Noori, the governor of Gulran district of Herat where the incident occurred, said on Thursday.

Noori had said on Sunday that the authorities had retrieved five bodies from the Harirud river.

On Thursday he said a preliminary investigation showed that the migrants were thrown into the river at gunpoint in an area called Zulfiqar in Iran.

A day after the incident, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi issued a statement saying the "incident" took place on Afghan soil.

"Border guards of Iran denied the occurrence of any events related to this on the soil of our country," he said.



China Says Philippine Plan to Deploy Midrange Missiles Would Be 'Extremely Irresponsible'

A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
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China Says Philippine Plan to Deploy Midrange Missiles Would Be 'Extremely Irresponsible'

A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)
A Chinese national flag flutters on a financial street in Beijing. (Reuters)

China said a plan by the Philippines to deploy midrange missiles would be a provocative move that stokes regional tensions.
The Philippines top army official told reporters in Manila earlier on Monday that the military plans to acquire a midrange system to defend the country’s territory amid tensions with China in the South China Sea.
“Yes, there are plans, there are negotiations, because we see its feasibility and adaptability,” Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said.
The US deployed its Typhon midrange missile system in the northern Philippines in April and troops from both countries have been training jointly for the potential use of the heavy weaponry.
China opposes US military assistance to the Philippines and has been particularly alarmed by the deployment of the Typhon system. Under President Joe Biden, the US has strengthened an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, including in any confrontation over Taiwan.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that deployment of the weapon by the Philippines would intensify geopolitical confrontation and an arms race.
“It is an extremely irresponsible choice for the history and people of itself and the whole of Southeast Asia, as well as for the security of the region,” she told a daily briefing.
The Philippines would not necessarily buy the Typhon system, Galido said.
The army is working not only with the United States but with other friendly countries on a long list of weapons platforms that it plans to acquire, he said.
The Philippines defense plan includes protecting its exclusive economic zone, which reaches 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers).
“It is paramount for the army to be able to project its force up to that extent, in coordination, of course, with the Philippine navy and the Philippine air force," Galido said.