Over 1 mln Afghan refugees return home in 6 months

KABUL, June 28 (Xinhua) — More than 1 million Afghan refugees have returned to their motherland since the beginning of this year, local media outlet Tolonews reported Saturday.
“If there is no emergency support, the returnees will face many challenges,” Tolo quoted Indrika Ratwatte, deputy special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Afghanistan, as saying.
According to the report, about 600,000 Afghan refugees from Iran, and 282,000 from Pakistan returned home over the past six months.
The return of Afghan refugees from Iran has increased following the Israeli strikes on Tehran since June 13, and the entry of up to 10,000 individuals daily to Afghanistan registered last week.
The Afghan interim government has been repeatedly urging Afghan refugees to cease living abroad as refugees and return home to contribute to the rebuilding of their war-damaged country. Enditem