ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish rights groups on Sunday warned of an impending massacre in the Kurdish city of Mahabad in western Iran as a large number of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units attacked the city with armored vehicles on Saturday night, hunting down activists that have defied the regime.
Videos from the city on Saturday showed thousands of mostly young men barricading the streets of the city preparing to confront the IRGC and its militia, the Basij. The IRGC and the Basij attacked protesters across the Kurdish areas of western Iran (Rojhelat), killing at least 26 protesters including children during four days of unrest.
Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported loud explosions being heard in several Kurdish cities on Saturday night, with no information released on the cause.
Ali Karimi, a football star who has become one of the most notable voices of the protests in Iran, called on people across the country to support the people of Mahabad.
“The forces of the IRGC armed with heavy and small weapons have entered Mahabad to suppress the youth. They have cut the electricity from neighborhoods where there were barricades,” Rebin Rahmani, the core founder of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, tweeted on Sunday morning. “The IRGC forces are searching house to house to arrest the citizens, there is constant gunfire.”
Bukan, Mahabad, and Piranshahr cities were scenes of battle between the protesters and the IRGC forces backed by their Kurdish collaborators. Several houses of Kurdish collaborators known, referred to as “jash” were torched. Some other cities in the Kurdish areas that have not seen much protest activity rose up on Friday and Saturday, including the town of Paveh, where protests continued through to Saturday night.
This photograph powerfully captures one reason— among many—why Iranians have been risking their lives protesting their government the last two months:
— Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) November 18, 2022
Young, modern Iranian women are tired of being ruled by old reactionary men. pic.twitter.com/AGaygAPBQN
Hengaw confirmed that a large number of troops from the regional headquarters of the IRGC were deployed from Urmia city to the city of Mahabad on Saturday night, warning of an impending massacre. Videos by Hengaw showed large numbers of Toyota pickup trucks packed with guards on the road reportedly heading to Mahabad.
At least 84 Kurdish protesters have been killed since the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police on September 16 which sparked the countrywide protest movement. The number of protesters killed across the country as of Friday evening stood at 402, including 58 children and teenagers, according to a tally provided by US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The crackdown continued across Iran as tens of universities defied the regime crackdown and protested against the regime. A banner of General Qasem Soleimani was symbolically taken down at Kurdistan University in Sanandaj and set on fire by students on Saturday.
University of Kurdistan;
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) November 19, 2022
The students took down and burned the picture of Qasem #Soleimani.
They chant:
"By the blood of our friends,
We swear to see this through until the end"
#MahsaAmini #IranRevolution
pic.twitter.com/KIaIHmziQR
The heads of the judiciary, the legislature, and executive branches of the state on Saturday met in Tehran and once again emphasized that the crackdown should continue against protesters.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met with a group of people from Isfahan and stated that the “rioters” want to exhaust the officials of the Islamic Republic with the protests but the “riots will be swept up”. Khamenei added that the enemies of the Islamic Republic are fomenting the unrest because they are not happy with Iran’s progress.
Kurdish sources reported that general strike continues across the Kurdish areas on Sunday.
