Security forces fire on mourners in Kurdish town in western Iran

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Thousands of Kurdish protesters and mourners shouted death to the dictator in the town of Javanrud in western Iran on Saturday as security forces tried to prevent them from visiting a cemetery and fired on them, wounding several.

Videos showed dozens of riot police officers seizing the hills around the cemetery where those killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its militia Basij were buried. The guards used live ammunition on November 21 against unarmed protesters shooting at least seven dead and dozens others wounded.

Hengaw human rights organisation said that at least eight mourners were wounded in the town on Saturday after the IRGC and other security forces opened fire on protesters. Videos showed tear gas being fired at the protesters including women as protesters lined up the street.

Since the beginning of the protest sparked by the killing of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini by the morality police in Tehran on September 16, at least 508 known protesters and bystanders have been killed including 69 children by the security forces, according to the US based Human Rights Activists News Agency. 

A video obtained by Rudaw showed dozens of protesters in the town center chanting “death to Khamenei” referring to the Iran supreme leader Ali Khamenei, the ultimate decision-maker who is in charge of the IRGC - responsible for the massacre in the town on November 21.

On Saturday lunch time, both Hengaw and Kurdistan Human Rights Network said that a protester by the name of Burhan Elyasi was killed by the security forces during the gathering which turned violent after the security forces opened fire on protesters.  

Sources of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network in #Javanrud have confirmed the death of a kurdish civilian named #Burhan_Elyasi & four others injured during the gathering to mark the 40th day of the killing of antigovernment protesters. /1 pic.twitter.com/mDEVxC5jcV

— Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) (@KurdistanHRN_En) December 31, 2022

Kurdish areas known as Rojhelat in western Iran have seen some of the worst clashes and protests over the past three and a half months as the country has been rocked by widespread anti-government protests.

Iranian officials describe the protests as “riots'' and blame the West and its regional allies for inciting the protest. However protests have spread to all over Iran with protesters united in calling for the overthrow of the regime.

Updated at 1:53 pm