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INTERNET access remained blocked in south-eastern Iran today as protests continued in the impoverished province of Sistan and Baluchistan over the blocking of trade routes.
Soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opened fire on demonstrators who gathered outside the IRGC offices on Monday, with one eyewitness reporting that “more than 50 people were killed or wounded.”
Others, including the Baluchi Activists Campaign, which monitors human rights violations, said that about 10 people had been killed in the Saravan border area near Pakistan, a key route for Baluchi fuel traders.
One of the dead was named as 13-year-old Mohammad Zehi.
Further incidents were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday as protesters chanted: “Down with the dictator,” while blocking roads in the city of Iranshar with burning tyres.
Demonstrations continued in Saravan, Iranshahr and the provincial capital Zahedan, prompting the clerical regime to send more troops to the region.
Sistan and Baluchistan has a high rate of poverty and lacks access to economic and social infrastructure.
Along with the western provinces of Western Azerbaijan and Kurdistan, its lack of economic opportunities forces many residents to engage in trading across the Pakistani and Iraqi borders.
Last week, Pakistan said that the 576-mile border would be fenced off by the end of the year, insisting that the measure was necessary to prevent terrorism and smuggling.
Some 40 per cent of the border fence has been erected so far, according to Pakistani officials.
Internet access remained blocked in most of the province’s major cities amid fears that government forces are committing grave human rights abuses as they crack down on protests.
The Iranian government said today that it was investigating Monday’s incident, adding that two people had been killed on the Pakistani side of the border.
“The body of at least one person was delivered by Pakistan’s border guards. We are reviewing the incident,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.
