Security forces fired live ammunition on Monday to quell protests in Kurdish areas of western Iran.
This is according to the group for the defense of the rights of the Kurds of Iran Hengaw, which reports 13 deaths in 24 hours in these regions. However, this figure could not be verified at this time.
The body, which is based in Norway, released videos it said showed law enforcement officers firing live ammunition in the towns of Piranchahr, Marivan and Javanroud. At least seven people were killed in Javanroud, four in Piranchahr and two in other localities.
Reinforcements have been sent in recent days to the Kurdish regions, one of the centers of the protest movement sparked on September 16 by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested by the morality police for breaking the code strict dress code requiring women to wear the veil in public.
Demonstrations there have recently intensified, particularly during the funerals of demonstrators killed by the security forces. Swedish NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) also released footage it says shows security forces firing live ammunition in Piranchahr and the grief of a mother prostrate over the remains of a 16-year-old boy killed on Sunday. , just before his funeral. “Mother, don’t cry, we are going to take revenge”, shouted in Kurdish people present at her side.
At least 378 people have been killed in the crackdown on protests, according to a latest report from Iran Human Rights.
The Kurds are one of the main ethnic minorities in Iran, representing about 10 million inhabitants out of a total of 83 million. They adhere mainly to Sunni Islam and not to the dominant Shiism in the country.