Iran: Militants attack Revolutionary Guard unit in southeast


PTI, Mar 3, 2021, 9:37 AM IST

Dubai: An armed separatist group in Iran’s restive southeast assaulted a vehicle carrying members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard paramilitary force Tuesday, state TV reported, as unrest continues to roil the impoverished region.

Iranian state TV blamed an al-Qaida-linked Sunni militant group called Jaish al-Adl for the attack in Sistan and Baluchestan, which wounded one officer and left another missing.

The report did not describe what weapons the group used in the ambush or elaborate on the officer’s disappearance.

The force’s engineering unit had been building roads outside the city of Saravan, the report said.

In the past, militants and small separatist groups in the predominantly Sunni region have abducted and killed members of the powerful Revolutionary Guard as part of a violent low-level insurgency against the Shiite government.

In 2019, Jaish al-Adl claimed a suicide bombing on a bus that killed 27 members of the Revolutionary Guard force.

Over the last week, protests and violent clashes have rocked Sistan and Baluchestan following the fatal shootings of fuel smugglers at Iran’s border with Pakistan.

Outraged demonstrators have stormed government buildings and blocked roads in Saravan.

For days, the area saw widespread internet service disruption, which activists described as a government attempt to prevent witness documentation of authorities’ crackdown.

The Iranian government reported that border guards killed at least two people and wounded several more in the mayhem last week. Human rights groups, however, have given higher death tolls.

The Centre for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based advocacy group, reported that Iranian security forces have killed at least 23 protesters.

In a statement this week, the group accused Revolutionary Guard forces of shooting demonstrators ”to silence dissent.”

Amnesty International also released a report based on witness testimony and footage Tuesday describing how the demonstrations first erupted.

Iranian border guards opened fire on fuel smugglers who were trying to come back into the country after selling the subsidized petrol in Pakistan, the group said.

Rage boiled over when security forces blocked the smugglers’ road into Saravan, stranding them in their pick-up trucks at the desert crossing without water or food. When some threw stones and tried to force their way past the checkpoint, officers killed at least 10 fuel traders, Amnesty said.

Sistan and Baluchestan is one of the least developed and most volatile parts of Iran. The relationship between the province’s predominantly Sunni residents and Iran’s Shiite theocracy has long been fraught.

In a speech last week, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights accused Iran of carrying out ”an apparently coordinated campaign” targeting minority groups since December, including in Sistan and Baluchestan.

”Across the country, the exercise of civic freedoms and political or critical expression continue to be targeted,” she said, expressing concern for ”persistent impunity for human rights violations.”

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Balasore tragedy result of composite negligence of railway officials: Orissa High Court

Actress Kasthuri stokes controversy by her remarks on Telugu-speaking people in TN

Three convicted for 2016 Kollam collectorate blast case

Expect Canadian government to ensure justice, uphold rule of law: PM Modi

Lone tusker spotted on NH-166 near Karkala, disrupts traffic

Lokayukta police summon Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for questioning in MUDA case on Wednesday

Not ‘kaun banega mukhyamantri’ contest; MVA to name CM pick after polls: Jairam Ramesh

Related Articles More

Expect Canadian government to ensure justice, uphold rule of law: PM Modi

Khalistanis clash with people at Hindu temple in Canada, Trudeau says unacceptable

Trump says he would not mind somebody ‘shooting’ at him through fake news

US Elections: New Iowa poll shows Kamala Harris leading in presidential race

India-US partnership most important globally for future: Democratic leader Makhija

MUST WATCH

Gho Pooja in Deepavali Festival

Melukote Deepavali

Ganapathi Co-operative Society Ltd

Udayavani Chinnara Banna 2024

Annapoorna Aahar | Food Places In Mysore


Latest Additions

Balasore tragedy result of composite negligence of railway officials: Orissa High Court

Actress Kasthuri stokes controversy by her remarks on Telugu-speaking people in TN

Three convicted for 2016 Kollam collectorate blast case

Expect Canadian government to ensure justice, uphold rule of law: PM Modi

Group clash in Indore after argument over bursting firecrackers: NSA slapped against 2 accused

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.