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Activists say Iranian security forces have killed two people after opening fire on protesters in the southeastern city that has seen weeks of unrest amid nationwide demonstrations.
Zahedan, in Iran’s long-volatile Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, has seen the deadliest violence so far in weeks of protests that have engulfed Iran.
Demonstrations that erupted in the city, partly over a rape allegation against a top local police officer, dovetail with protests that angered much of the country in September over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Activists estimate that in Zahedan alone, nearly 100 people have been killed since the September 30 rally sparked a violent police response. Soldiers surrounded a major Sunni mosque in an area where residents rallied against the Iranian government on Friday, while also firing at demonstrators, activists said.
Protests across Iran have emerged as the biggest threat to the country’s theocracy since the 2009 Green Movement demonstrations, evolving from a focus on women’s rights and the state-mandated hijab or hijab to calls for the expulsion of the Shiite cleric who have ruled Iran since 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Weeks after the protests, women continued to take off their headscarves during street demonstrations as international pressure grew over the Iranian government’s crackdown on protesters.
Demonstrations involved more than 125 cities; at least 270 people were killed and nearly 14,000 arrested, according to Iranian human rights activists.
Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan provinces border Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Gulf of Oman and are a Sunni-majority region. Its Balochs have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens by Iran’s Shiite theocracy.
On Friday, video from advocacy group HalVash showed demonstrators on the streets of the province’s most populous city and its capital, Zahedan. Some chanted “Death to Pasir Ji,” referring to the volunteer units of the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps, which are responsible only to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Later, footage showed what appeared to be tear gas on the street. Gunshots echoed, and a video showed protesters littering the streets with what appeared to be exhausted rifle bullets.
Footage later showed protesters returning to the city’s Makki Grand Mosque, where they initially gathered for Friday prayers. Security forces followed. Bloodstains and bloody palm prints on tiles were later seen in the mosque’s courtyard, and activists said they feared two people had been killed.
“Police, please clear the way for worshippers,” a voice over the mosque’s loudspeaker pleaded at one point. “Don’t cause (trouble) so people can return home.”
Internet advocacy group NetBlocks said late Friday that Zahedan’s online access appeared to have been disrupted.
Iranian authorities did not immediately acknowledge Friday’s violence in Zahedan, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of the country’s capital, Tehran. Later, state television reported online that one person was killed and 14 injured in Zahedan. It did not say who was behind the shooting.
In its strongest statement yet, the United Nations on Friday condemned Iran for “all incidents resulting in the death or serious injury of protesters” and reiterated that “security forces must refrain from all unnecessary or excessive use of force against peaceful protesters.”
“Those responsible must be held accountable,” UN spokesman Stephen Dujarric said, adding that the UN was urging Tehran to “address the legitimate grievances of the population, including with regard to women’s rights.”
The state-run IRNA news agency published a statement from the province’s safety committee earlier on Friday, saying Zahedan’s police chief and another police officer were fired for their handling of the Sept. 30 protests.
The statement acknowledged for the first time that police shot and killed people who were praying at a nearby mosque.
The Security Council version of the demonstration claimed that 150 people, including armed men, stormed a police station and tried to take over it during the protests.
“Unfortunately, armed clashes and police shootings resulted in the wounding and killing of some believers and innocent passers-by who played no part in the unrest,” it said.
However, the statement claimed that only 35 people had been killed, while activists estimated that the number was about three times that number killed by security forces, who also allegedly fired on protesters from helicopters.
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