Turkish police beat us with iron rods before we lost limbs to frostbite, Afghans say

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Turkish police beat us with iron rods before we lost limbs to frostbite, Afghans sayImage caption, Twenty-one-year-old Shahsawar's legs and hands were ultimately amputatedByMamoon DurraniBBC Afghan ForensicPublished16 minutes agoWarning: This article contains images and descriptions of violence that some readers may find distressing. A dozen young Afghans who tried to reach Europe in January have told the they were among a group of 50 migrants beaten and stripped by Turkish border guards before being stranded in the snow. They say they were forced from the eastern Turkish city of Van towards the Iranian border, where temperatures were sub-zero.

The group added that at least 20 people froze to death. Eleven of the 12 men and boys who spoke to the - including a 13-year-old - eventually lost limbs to frostbite. The group, all aged 25 or under, was eventually returned to Afghanistan.

The Details

One of the migrants, Shahsawar, says he regained consciousness in a Kabul hospital to discover both his hands and legs had been amputated. "I raised my hands - they felt light. Both had been cut off," he tells the .

"My throat closed up and I couldn't speak. "When approached for comment, Turkish authorities did not specifically address the migrants' allegations. But the foreign ministry said border forces followed national and international laws and provided detained undocumented migrants with all necessary assistance, including food, water and medical care.

Image source, Anadolu via Getty ImagesImage caption, Temperatures had plummeted to -15C in eastern Turkey, where the Afghan boys and men say they were caught by border guardsIn mid-January, around 50 undocumented Afghan migrants were arrested after people smugglers helped them cross the Iranian border into of Van, where temperatures had dropped to -15C. Shahsawar, 21, says he was detained immediately on entering the city. Turkish border guards then lined the migrants up and beat them, he says.

What Experts Say

"They kept us for several nights in a warehouse, where snow was falling on us. And they gave us only water and dry bread once a day. ""They forced us to do hard labour," adds Alwaldin, 23.

"We had to carry wood and clear snow. "Alwaldin was neither able to contact his family nor the trafficker who had promised to take him to Europe. Image caption, Alawaldin, 23, says the migrants were stripped and forced to crawl on their stomachsThe migrants who spoke to the describe an exceptionally violent incident on 25 January when they say they were again lined up by border guards, but this time beaten with iron bars.

Stripped of their clothes and with their hands tied, they were forced to crawl on their stomachs toward a hill, Alawaldin says. "Some people's heads were broken and blood was flowing over their shoulders. "Some had been beaten so badly they could no longer use their hands, according to Shahsawar.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.