Protests continue in Sistan and Baluchestan; Amnesty International responds to "direct shooting" at fuel consumers
As protests continue over the killing of fuel workers by direct fire from military and security forces in Sistan and Baluchistan, Amnesty International, like other human rights organizations and the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, reacted to the killing of deprived Baloch fuel workers in Sistan and Baluchistan.
Amnesty International announced in a statement on its Twitter account that disturbing videos and reports have been obtained from inside Iran showing that Iranian security forces opened fire on a number of fuel transporters in Sistan and Baluchestan province on Monday, March 25, killing them.
The human rights organization further stated that it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Although there are no exact figures for injuries or possible deaths, some accounts suggest that at least 17 people have died in the clashes. VOA cannot independently confirm these reports.
However, some videos published on social media show security forces firing directly from the rooftop of a police station in Zahedan.
On the other hand, accounts reached by Voice of America and published on social media in recent days indicate severe disruption and slow or outage of the internet in some areas of the province, which is fueling concerns about severe repression of the protesters.
It is said that these protests began after a group of fuel tankers were killed and injured by direct fire from Revolutionary Guard forces at the "Askan" border point in Saravan city in Sistan and Baluchestan.
The Baloch Activists Campaign had previously announced in a report that the IRGC had blocked the movement of Baloch fuel tankers by closing and digging large holes at the border zero points, which led to a gathering of a number of fuel tankers in front of the IRGC base and IRGC forces firing at the protesters.
Maulana Abdul Hamid, the Sunni Friday prayer imam of Zahedan, once again issued a statement in response to Monday's incident in the border region of Saravan, calling for an "impartial and fair investigation and handling" of the recent incidents in Sistan and Baluchestan, and urged provincial officials to "consider all aspects in their comments so as not to hurt the feelings of the suffering people."
This Sunni cleric continued, considering the problem of unemployment and the livelihood of some people through fuel transportation in Sistan and Baluchestan province, while calling for this source of income for fuel consumers not to be closed, and emphasized: "The perpetrators of the shooting incident against fuel consumers must receive their legal punishment and the damages incurred must be compensated."
According to reports from Baloch civil and legal activists, every year dozens of young Baloch fuel, cargo and passenger transporters are killed or injured as a result of direct gunfire from the military and police forces of the Islamic Republic.
Source: Voice of America
