Tasnim – The spokesman for the Iranian Police said the country’s border guards opened fire on porters, locally known as Kolbars, in the western border areas of Baneh, Kurdistan Province, after they sneaked into a restricted area and ignored police warning shots.





Two nights ago, Iranian border guards noticed a group of people with packages trying to enter into the red zone in the city of Baneh, Brigadier General Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi said on Thursday.

The guards fired several warning shots but they ignored warnings and crossed the district, he added.

Given the sensitivity of the region and a record of security threats in the area, the Iranian border guards were finally forced to open fire on them in a bid to prevent possible future anti-security incidents, the spokesman noted, adding that two porters were killed.

Baneh is some 670 kilometers (400 miles) west of the capital, Tehran.

Iranian authorities are making all necessary measures to address smuggling in border areas, particularly the Kurdish region, and help the porters (Kolbars) as emphasized by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Last year, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Be determined in fighting smuggling. When I say smuggling, I don’t mean a poor Kolbar from Balouchistan who goes to the other side of the border and carries a thing on his back to this side. … This is not important, it won't matter even if you don’t confront them…I am talking about big coordinated smuggling (rings); we need to fight them, we are the state, we have the power.”