KABUL, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- About 16,633 Afghan refugees had returned or been deported from neighboring Pakistan and Iran to Afghanistan during the period of Sept. 9-14, the UN migration agency IOM reported Wednesday.
A total of 969 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan, making an increase of 8 percent compared to the previous week when 895 were registered after entering their homeland, said IOM in a statement.
Meanwhile, 15,664 Afghans had reportedly arrived over the period from Iran, 10 percent more than the previous week, according to the statement.
The IOM has provided post-arrival humanitarian assistance, including food and non-food items to 1,333 returnees.
More than 561,000 Afghan refugees have returned to the poverty-stricken country from the two neighboring states since Jan. 1 this year.
