Human rights group Amnesty International reported on Friday that Iranian security forces may have killed up to ten people, including children, in a crackdown on protesters in the country's southeastern provinces.
Amnesty International posted on Twitter on Friday that security personnel in Khash, Sistan, and Baluchestan provinces, had opened fire with live ammunition on "peaceful protesters" from the rooftops of the governor's office " and other buildings during the Iran protests.
The province is home to the long-oppressed Sunni Muslim Baluch ethnic group and has a history of conflict.
Mass protests have also broken out in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan when the police commander was accused of raping a Baluch girl, as reported by CNN.
According to footage & accounts received from eyewitnesses from Khash, Sistan & Baluchestan province, since 2pm local time, security forces have been firing live ammunition at peaceful protesters from the rooftops of the Governor's office & several other buildings. #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/47c2p43qzn
— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) November 4, 2022
Zahedan's police chief was fired last week, but Iran protests continued, and on Thursday, a senior Shia priest was killed by unidentified gunmen, according to state news agency IRNA.
Protests against the government reportedly became violent on Friday in numerous locations across southeast Iran, including Khash, according to official media and activists. State media posted footage from the city showing building smoke.
Human Rights Groups Raise Concerns
Amnesty used interviews with eyewitnesses and video material it had gathered from a variety of sources in its findings.
#شیرین_علیزاده رو وحشیانه کشتند، به خانواده عزادارش توهین کردند و به کسانی که تو چهلم شرکت کردند، تیر زدند
— Maryam Moqaddam مریم مقدم (@MaryamMoqaddam) November 4, 2022
-ظهور عینی شعار «دشمن ما همینجاست»
pic.twitter.com/ehb39G9jK7
The group expressed grave concern about "further bloodshed" in Iran protests due to internet outages and allegations of government officials deploying additional security forces to Khash from Zahedan.
Iran Human Rights (IHR), headquartered in Norway, shared footage of wounded people being carried away and reported that many have been killed or wounded in Khash" due to security forces shooting from rooftops, as per a Barrons report.
Baloch Activists Campaign (BAC) reported security forces were firing "with intent to kill" and hospitals were overrun.
They claimed in a Telegram channel that "dozens" had been killed, including a 14-year-old girl, and that they had confirmed the identity of nine of the victims.
Videos uploaded on social media depicted scenes of mayhem in Khash, with smoke billowing and citizens racing to aid the injured.
Stone-throwing protestors who also set fire to a police patrol post injured many officers, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Activists in Sistan-Baluchestan have long complained of discrimination at the hands of Iran's Shiite clerical establishment due to the province's majority Baluch population, who adhere to Sunni Islam rather than Shiite Islam.
Anti-Government Protests Continue Amid Violence
Despite the violent crackdown, anti-government Iran protests resumed on the streets in force after dusk arrived, according to a report from Iran International.
People in the capital city of Tehran took to the streets at night, burning fires, blocking highways, and screaming anti-government chants in areas such as Javadieh, Tehranpars, Ekbatan, and other neighborhoods.
Hours after regime forces opened fire on unarmed people in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Zahedan's Sunni Imam, who had earlier in the day called for a referendum, criticized the Islamic Republic's response to protestors in Khash.
According to the United Nations, "Iran's authorities must swiftly rein in security forces" after up to 14,000 people were detained in Iran over the previous six weeks. Amnesty International says UN members must address issues with Iran's embassies and support a UN Human Rights Council investigation.
