Iran's Kurdish region the focus of crackdown against protesters
Iran's Kurdish region has seen increased reports of violence by security forces against
With Iran’s protests extending into a third month, the government’s crackdown is intensifying in ethnically Kurdish areas in the northwest of the country, according to the government, local officials and human rights activists.
At least 42 people have been killed over the past week while protesting in Kurdish cities as a result of “direct fire from the Iranian government forces,” Kurdish human rights group Hengaw said Tuesday. The group, which focuses on human rights in Iranian Kurdistan, said that at least 1,500 people have been injured.
Authorities restrict media coverage of demonstrations, making independent reporting on protests difficult if not impossible. NBC News cannot verify claims made by the government or independent organizations.
Two videos NBC News was able to confirm were filmed in Javanrud, in Kermanshah province, an area with a high proportion of ethnic Kurds, showing clashes on a rubble-strewn street. One video was shot from the perspective of men wearing camouflage worn by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful military and political force with deep influence in the Iranian state. The other was filmed from the perspective of civilians in plain clothes who are carrying no visible weapons.
In the clashes Hengaw said occurred Monday, gunfire can be heard as the armed, camouflage-clad men advance up the street toward the people in plain clothes.
Rating: 5