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Over 1 Million Afghans Expelled from Iran Face Torture and Famine Exacerbated by U.S. Aid Cuts

HeadlineAug 05, 2025

The United Nations warns over 1.5 million Afghans have been forcefully repatriated — most of them from Iran — where they face poverty, hunger and serious human rights violations. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reports many of those returning face torture, mistreatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, after the Taliban violated its promise to provide amnesty to people affiliated with the former, U.S.-backed government that collapsed in 2021. The World Food Programme warns nearly 10 million people — or about a quarter of Afghanistan’s population — face acute food insecurity, with its “sharpest surge” ever of child malnutrition, coming after the Trump administration terminated $1.7 billion in contracts for U.S. aid to Afghanistan.

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