Nowruz Ceremony in Ashonah Turned Violent Following Special Forces Raid

According to unofficial reports, special forces units violently dispersed a gathering of people participating in Nowruz ceremonies in Ashonah on Sunday evening, March 20, 2022, shortly after the start of the year 1401.

In videos circulated on social media, gunshot sounds can be heard, and participants in the ceremony are seen taking shelter in side streets following the special forces raid.

According to local reports, special forces units used tear gas and pellet ammunition to disperse the crowds.

No information has been released so far regarding possible casualties from Sunday evening’s special forces operation in Ashonah.

Ashonah is one of the Kurdish-populated border cities in West Azerbaijan Province, bordered to the west by Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan region) and to the north by Urmia.

Nowruz ceremonies are held annually in several Kurdish-populated cities in Iran under severe security pressures.

According to multiple reports from human rights websites, dozens of Kurdish citizens have been summoned to intelligence offices in various Kurdish-populated cities in recent weeks, and have been forced to provide written commitments to prevent them from organizing or participating in Nowruz ceremonies.

The “Kurdpa” website reported in early October that 18 people have been detained since the beginning of 1400 regarding the organization of Nowruz ceremonies.

According to reports, district and provincial administrations in Kurdish-populated areas issued circulars to executive officials in recent weeks banning the organization of Nowruz ceremonies, the use of the “Kurdistan flag,” traditional clothing, red flowers, and mixed dancing and foot-stomping of women and men, while emphasizing the use of Iranian government symbols in New Year-related ceremonies.

Source: Radio Farda