By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
May 24, 2024
Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled Foreign Ministry says the bodies of 18 Afghan migrants who died of suffocation while attempting to cross into Bulgaria have been transferred to Kabul. The bodies were returned on the morning of May 24, Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for the ministry, said on Twitter. The 18 Afghans were discovered lifeless on February 17 in an abandoned truck close to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Seven suspected smugglers were arrested by Bulgarian authorities. Takal said the Taliban has paid for the repatriation. The bodies have been returned to their families, Takal said.