Iran Hijab Row: Protests rage, security forces open fire on crowd

Over 200 people were killed when security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds as per the right groups. The restive city of Zahedan was rocked by violence on September 30, which activists describe as the bloodiest day since the nationwide protests began.

Image Credit: Reuters' Representative purpose only

New Delhi: After tensions erupted the day before, a city in Iran that was the scene of a bloody crackdown last month awoke to new destruction on Saturday, according to state TV. Protests after Friday prayers in Zahedan, a southeastern city with a Baluch ethnic population, left the city battered. Shops had their windows smashed and gaped open to the street. The sidewalks were littered with shattered glass. ATMs were harmed. Cleaning crews arrived and began sweeping debris from vandalised stores. The protests in Zahedan came as protests across Iran continue over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in the custody of the country's morality police on September 16.

Protesters hurled stones at motorists and damaged banks and other private property, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Authorities said 57 demonstrators were arrested, adding to the estimated thousands who have been detained as a result of the protests. Ahmad Taheri, the provincial police commander, stated that security forces were looking for additional suspects. Although the protests began in response to the country's mandatory hijab, they have evolved into the Islamic Republic's most serious challenge since the 2009 Green Movement over disputed elections. 

According to rights groups, security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds, killing over 200 people. On September 30, violence erupted in the restive city of Zahedan, which activists describe as the bloodiest day since the nationwide protests began. Outrage erupted following allegations that a Baluch teenager had been raped by a police officer, escalating tensions in the underdeveloped region home to the Shiite theocracy's minority Sunni Muslims.

The rights groups said that dozens of people were killed when security forces opened fire on crowds on what residents call "Bloody Friday." Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based organisation, puts the death toll at more than 90. The Zahedan violence was described by Iranian authorities as involving unnamed separatists, but no details or evidence were provided. Unrest in the city flared up again on Friday, according to video footage purportedly showing crowds gathering after noon prayers in Zahedan, chanting "I will kill the one who killed my brother!" The scale of the clashes was unknown, but Iranian state television aired footage of the aftermath, blaming 150 "rioters" for the devastation.

(With agencies inputs)