Balochistan, a vast, resource-rich desert region spanning Pakistan and Iran, is a hotbed of separatist conflict. In his new book titled "Balochistan at a Crossroads," journalist Willem Marx and photographer Marc Watterlot documented the suffering and struggles of Baluch people living in underdeveloped and marginalized communities in both Pakistan and Iran.
Balochistan: Portraits Of Life On The Brink
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A group of fighters from the Baloch Liberation Army pose with their weapons around the campfire.
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A child sits inside a makeshift school building built by Baloch refugees who fled the violence that engulfed their remote rural villages.
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The Kech valley to the north of Gwadar is representative of the beautiful but desolate landscapes of the Makran coastal region of Balochistan.
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An elderly woman is one of many Baloch people to have moved from a rural region to the area surrounding Gwadar port in search of work.
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On the outskirts of the port town of Gwadar, a Baloch woman returns to her home, built primarily from branches and cloth rags.
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A girl in Quetta wears a bandana supporting the Baloch Liberation Army, a nationalist militant group.
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A rally in Quetta to mark the day in 1948 when Pakistan annexed a short-lived independent Baloch state.
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Residents from a nearby village visit a guerrilla encampment belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army.
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Not far from the strategic Bolan Pass, a member of the Baloch Liberation Army keeps watch.
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Outside the front door of the late tribal leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti's home, several Bugti tribesmen stand guard, while others wait for an audience with their chieftain.
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Insurgent fighters belonging to the Baloch nationalist movement sit in the back of a pick-up truck near the town of Dera Bugti.
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An AK-47 that has been personalized by its owner, a member of the Baloch Liberation Army.
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Imdad Baloch once headed up a Baloch student movement before he was abducted and tortured by agents from a Pakistani military intelligence agency.
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During the intense afternoon heat, Baloch Liberation Army guerillas travel along the floor of a valley in territory under their control.