Afghans leave country in an exodus across desert

New Delhi, Sep 1 : A remarkable footage shows the truly epic scale of the exodus of Afghans fleeing their country to head west, the Daily Mail reported.

The almost-biblical scenes of the mass migration across the desert where the borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran all meet show an endless river of people flowing between the mountains.

For these men, women and children, their initial destination is likely to be Turkey, still more than 1,000 miles away across Iran, and from there many of them will hope to go to Europe and Britain, the report said.

A migrant who recently made the same journey said the stretch shown is at the end of a four-hour trek through rough terrain, where the Afghan refugees, having travelled briefly through Pakistan, continue their journey with Iranian people smugglers.

He said: "These are the poorest people, because there are other ways which involve less walking, but those routes cost more."

The Afghans' journey began in desolate Nimruz, Afghanistan's most sparsely populated province, largely covered by deserts and mountains.

In the footage, with human caravan stretching back as far as the eye can see, few words are spoken, and only the sound of goats being herded in the other direction can be made out, the report said.