ISLAMABAD: The detention of 35 Afghan men in Bulgaria after they were found packed into a van is the latest sign of the difficult journeys many Afghans are undertaking as they leave a country facing deepening humanitarian and economic pressures, according to Afghanistan-based media reports.
Kabul Tribune reported that Bulgarian border police found 35 Afghan men near the southeastern town of Malko Tarnovo on August 18. Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said the group was detained with a 22-year-old driver from North Macedonia. The men were carrying no identity documents.
Bulgarian authorities have not said where the men entered the country from, where they were traveling or whether they sought asylum, Kabul Now reported.
The identities and nationalities of the 35 men have not been independently confirmed.
The movement of Afghans across the region comes as neighboring countries continue returning large numbers of people to Afghanistan. More than 1 million Afghans had returned from neighboring countries this year as of August 1, including more than 426,000 from Iran, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration.
For Afghans who leave, the reasons can overlap. Insecurity, poverty, limited economic opportunities and restrictions under Taliban rule have been reported as among the pressures driving people to seek lives elsewhere, according to several Afghanistan-based media outlets.
Since assuming power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US troops, the interim Taliban authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions on journalists, medical personnel among others, as reported by UNHCR. Afghanistan is also dealing with acute food insecurity, a struggling economy, recurring natural disasters and major shortages in humanitarian funding.
The UN refugee agency has described the country as facing multiple crises that are weakening people's ability to cope.
Bulgaria has procedures allowing migrants intercepted at its external borders to stay in specialized screening centers for as long as seven days before being moved to migrant reception centers, Bulgarian Border Police chief Anton Zlatanov stated. He gave the information to the Bulgarian News Agency when authorities announced the June detentions.
Bulgarian authorities had not immediately provided details on possible charges against the North Macedonian driver or the legal proceedings involving the 35 men.