Security forces order evacuation of Kermanshah border areas, forcing early migration of nomadic families
Hengaw – Friday, March 13, 2026
Iranian military and security authorities have ordered the evacuation of nomadic communities living along the border areas of Kermanshah Province (Kermashan), forcing families to begin their seasonal migration weeks earlier than usual in order to clear the region for the deployment of heavy military equipment.
According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, in recent days military authorities have notified all nomadic families residing in the border regions of Qasr-e Shirin, Khosravi, Naft Shahr, and Sumar that they must evacuate the area no later than Saturday, March 14, 2026, and begin moving toward their summer pastures.
Sources in Qasr-e Shirin told Hengaw that the directive was issued to clear the border strip for the deployment of artillery units and other heavy military equipment. By turning civilian living areas into military zones, the Islamic Republic is placing the safety and livelihoods of hundreds of local families at serious risk.
For these communities, the forced migration comes at a particularly dangerous time. The mountainous summer pastures remain under severe cold conditions, and moving herds at this stage of the season could result in the large-scale loss of livestock, the primary source of income for nomadic families.
Under normal seasonal patterns, these households remain in the warmer lowland regions until early May. The current order therefore compels migration roughly forty days earlier than the customary timetable.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights strongly condemns this measure and considers it a clear violation of the livelihood rights of local communities and a serious threat to the living security of the region’s inhabitants.
The use of civilian grazing lands for military purposes and the coercion of vulnerable nomadic communities to vacate their lands constitute a direct violation of international human rights standards regarding the protection of civilian populations.
