ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gunfire and chants of “death to dictator” echoed across the streets of Mahabad in western Iran late on Thursday, a city historically known as an emblem of Kurdish resistance, with at least three people killed as security forces opened fire on protesters.
The protests were sparked by the death Esmail Mawloodi, 35, at the hand of Iranian security forces during the ongoing protests in the city of Mahabad, the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said in a tweet as protests continue across various cities in Iran's western Kurdish regions (Rojhelat).
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights posted footage on social media of what it described to be Mawloodi’s funeral procession, showing chants of “the martyr does not die.” After the funeral, videos showed protesters marching towards the governor’s office in the city.
Heavy gunfire could be heard in the videos as clashes between security forces and protesters reportedly broke out. According to Hengaw, three protesters identified as Shaho Khazri, Zanyar Abubakri, and Kurba Sheikh Saqa were killed.
Iranian state media accused “rioters,” the term it uses to refer to protesters, of damaging public property and breaking into government buildings.
Secretary General of KDP-Iran Khalid Azizi told Rudaw on Friday that his party had called on protesters to refrain from “attacking public paces” in an attempt to “avoid tension within the protest movement.” With regards to the crackdown by authorities on the protests, he stated that “Iran is seeking revenge in Rojhelat.”
On Friday, Hengaw said that a 16-year-old girl died from injuries sustained after reportedly receiving multiple blows to the head during a crackdown on protests in Sanandaj.
Large crowds of people gathered on Wednesday and marched towards Mahsa (Zhina) Amini's grave marking 40 days since her death in police custody in Tehran despite warnings and measures taken by security forces, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly forcing the Amini family to say that they would not hold an event on the day.
Chants of "Woman, life, freedom", "Death to the dictator" and "Down with traitors" echoed at the burial site in Aichi cemetery in the Kurdish city of Saqqez, Amini's hometown and the origin of the weeks-long nationwide protests. Security forces also reportedly fired tear gas at protesters in the city.
The protesters are being largely attacked by masked men, according to Aveen Mustafa Zadeh, the spokesperson of Kurdistan Press Agency (Kurdpa) that monitors human rights in Iran. She added that the number of people arrested across Iran for protesting is in the “thousands.”
According to Kurdish human rights organizations, at least 40 people have been killed in the Kurdish areas with over 800 wounded and several thousands detained.
Mahabad is historically regarding among Kurds as being the place were a short-lived Kurdish Republic was founded in 1946.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR), which covers human rights violations across Iran, said on Tuesday that at least 234 people, including 29 children have been killed in the ongoing nationwide protests.
