The UN migration agency on Tuesday voiced concern over a surge in Afghan families deported from Iran, recording a more than two-fold increase in May from the previous month.
There was a "sharp rise in the forced return of Afghan nationals" from Iran in May, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.
"Particularly alarming is a significant surge in the number of families being deported -- a new and concerning trend, as returnees deported in previous months were predominantly single young men," it added.
The IOM said 15,675 Afghan families had crossed the border from Iran in May compared to 6,879 in April.
The number of Afghan families without legal documentation in Iran returning to Afghanistan last month was three times higher than in May last year, it added.
The spike in returns comes as Afghans have also been pressured to leave Pakistan, with a campaign by Islamabad expelling tens of thousands of Afghans since April.
The influx across both borders threatens to strain Afghanistan's already "fragile reception and reintegration systems", according to the IOM, in a country still recovering from decades of conflict and ongoing economic crisis.
AFP
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