Authorities use force as protests spread in Kurdish regions of Iran

Demonstrations over economic conditions broke out across Kurdish cities in western Iran on Wednesday and were met with force by authorities, witnesses and rights groups said, even as Kurdish parties and exiled opposition figures called for a general strike. Protesters said security forces fired teargas, pellet guns and what demonstrators described as live bullets.

"They are killing us. They’re showing no mercy," said a 35-year-old female protester in the Mossadegh area of Kermanshah, describing beatings in the city. Two protesters in Kermanshah reported seeing security forces shoot at crowds, a claim the Norway-based Hengaw organisation for human rights said it had documented with evidence of Kalashnikov use.

Rights groups say the unrest, now in its 11th day, began with traders protesting a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian rial and has broadened to include wider grievances against the government. Seven Iranian Kurdish opposition parties have called a general strike on Thursday, and Reza Pahlavi has urged unified protests; Hiwa Bahrami of the Democratic party of Iranian Kurdistan called the strike "a peaceful action" and said he hoped people would not be attacked.

The US-based Human Rights Activists news agency (Hrana) reported at least 36 people, including four children and two members of Iran’s security forces, have been killed in the violence, and said more than 2,100 people have been arrested.

Key Topics

World, Kurdish Protesters, Kermanshah, Ilam Province, Reza Pahlavi, Iranian Rial