Amnest says children may be among protesters killed by security forces in Iran

Up to 10 people, including children, are feared to have been killed on November 4 in a crackdown on protests by Iranian security forces in the southeast of the country, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said.

In several Twitter posts on the same day, Amnesty said security forces had fired live ammunition at “peaceful protesters from the rooftops of the governor’s office and several other buildings” in the city of Khash in Sistan and Baluchestan province, CNN reports.

The province, neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to members of the long-oppressed predominantly Sunni Muslim Baluch ethnic minority and has a history of unrest.

The violence on November 4 came amid nationwide protests against the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died after being detained by morality police in Tehran.

Large-scale demonstrations have also taken place recently in Zahedan, the state capital of Sistan and Baluchestan, following the alleged rape of a Baluch girl by the police chief.

In its reports, Amnesty cited witnesses and footage it had obtained from various sources.

The group said it was “gravely concerned about further bloodshed amid internet disruptions and reports of authorities bringing more security forces to Khash from Zahedan.”

“Iran’s authorities must immediately rein in security forces. Member states of the UN must immediately raise concerns with Iran’s ambassadors and support the establishment of an independent investigative mechanism by the UN Human Rights Council,” Amnesty said.