Security forces reported to have killed at least 45 people since protests began 12 days ago, as pressure on regime increases
Security forces reported to have killed at least 45 people since protests began 12 days ago, as pressure on regime increases
Iran was plunged into a complete internet blackout on Thursday night as protests over economic conditions spread nationwide, increasing pressure on the country’s leadership.
While it was unclear what caused the internet cut, first reported by the internet freedom monitor NetBlocks, Iranian authorities have shut down the internet in response to protests in the past.
NetBlocks had reported outages in the western city of Kermanshah earlier in the day, as authorities intensified their crackdown against protesters. The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Thursday that Iranian security forces had killed at least 45 protesters, including eight children, since the demonstrations began in late December.
Shopkeepers heeded calls from seven Kurdish political groups for a general strike on Thursday, closing their doors in Kurdish regions and dozens of other cities around Iran. Demonstrations reached all 31 provinces on Thursday as the protest movement showed no signs of abating.
In the southern Fars province demonstrators pulled down the statue of the former senior Revolutionary Guards al-Quds force commander Qassem Suleimani – considered a hero of mythical proportions by government supporters.
IHR said Wednesday was the bloodiest day of the now 12-day movement, with 13 protesters confirmed killed. “The evidence shows that the scope of the crackdown is becoming more violent and more extensive every day,” said the IHR director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, adding that hundreds more had been wounded and more than 2,000 arrested.
Media inside Iran and official statements have reported at least 21 people killed, including security forces, since the protests began, according to an Agence France-Presse tally.
