London, Nov. 20 – State Security Forces (SSF) have been dispatched to the streets in the Kurdish city of Mahabad, north-western Iran, and the volatile city is in a de facto state of martial law, according to local Kurdish activists.

The protests erupted after news emerged that the SSF had shot another young anti-government activist, Shawane Qaderi, in cold blood. His body was tied to the back of a jeep and dragged around the city.

Fifteen failed Iraqi asylum seekers have been forcibly sent home, the Home Office confirmed.

The refugees are being flown out to the northern city of Irbil, according to leaked Home Office documents obtained by Channel 4 News.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that fifteen Iraqi nationals with no leave to remain in the UK were removed to Iraq on November 20.

"The Government announced its intention to commence enforced returns to Iraq in February 2004 and these removals bring Iraq into line with arrangements we have with other countries.

"All those removed were informed in advance of this action and have been given assistance to help re-establish themselves in Iraq enabling them to contribute to the re-building of their country.

"It is important for the integrity of our asylum system that any individual who is found not to be in need of international protection should be expected to leave the UK."

The Home Office first announced its intention to resume enforced removals in February last year but previous attempts have foundered because the situation in Iraq was judged to be too dangerous.

But over the past two years more than 1,000 Iraqis have returned home voluntarily and hundreds more are currently preparing to return, the Home Office said.

"Voluntary returns are always preferable to enforced returns but if people do not leave voluntarily, we will enforce their return.

"There is clearly a difficult position in those parts of Iraq most affected by insurgencies, but we do not accept this is the case in all areas.

"As such, enforced returns are taken forward on a case by case basis and only to areas assessed as sufficiently stable and where we are satisfied that the individuals concerned will not be at risk," the spokesman said.

http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4492

A study last year revealed that fourteen percent of children in Iran work to provide income for their families. The following are photos of children forced to work taken by a state-run news agency.

Many of these children are forced into illegal employment such as smuggling, selling narcotics, and prostitution and have to forgo any opportunity of studying in school. Virtually all such children are facing malnutrition and are prone to diseases due to lack of hygiene.

The figures show that at present there are over a million Iranian children living in extreme poverty, with more than half a million children living under the $2 poverty line and another half a million living under the $1 poverty line.

Iranian authorities have announced that the number of street children throughout the country was in the hundreds of thousands.

http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4492