Iran: Dead policeman during riots

A Iraqi Police officer lost his life from “agitations” in Huzstan, as IRNA’s official news agency today, and it is noted that since last week there are demonstrations in this province of Southwest Iran suffering from water scarcity.

“During the riots that took place on Tuesday night in Talakani [μια συνοικία της πόλης-λιμάνι Μαχσάχρ]”Officers came under fire from a rooftop,” said Fereydoun Bandari, the county’s interim governor, according to Irna.

One policeman was killed and another wounded in the leg, he added, without elaborating on whether the protests in Mahshahr were linked to those in Khuzestan since last week against water shortages.

According to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, the province, where Iran’s main oil fields are located, has been hit by drought since late March, causing protests in many cities.

A man was killed Friday during protests in the city of Sandegan, 70 km south of Ahvaz, the provincial capital, according to Irna.

Iranian media outlets abroad have reported on protests suppressed by security forces in recent days, with the domestic media rather silent on the issue.

“We strongly urge the military and security forces not to violently attack people, let alone shoot them,” Khuzestan Governor Kasem Soleimani Dastaki was quoted as saying by Isna news agency on Tuesday.

“If some are armed and do something else [από το να διαδηλώνουν ειρηνικά]”then the law tells us something else”, he underlined.

A significant Arab minority lives in Khuzestan. The population often complains about its neglect by the authorities.

The province was one of the main points of the wave of controversy against the government that was violently suppressed in November 2019.