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Iranian Forces Massacre Baluch Minority at Friday Prayers

(New York Times) Cora Engelbrecht - On Sept. 30 in Zahedan, a city in southeastern Iran that is home to the predominantly Sunni Baluch minority, a small group of worshipers emerged from the Great Mosalla prayer complex to confront security forces posted at a police station across the street. The protesters chanted antigovernment slogans and threw rocks at the officers, prompting the security forces to fire indiscriminately into the crowd. As the demonstrators scattered, the gunshots stalked their retreat back toward the complex, where thousands were still praying. "They started shooting as people still had their heads bowed in prayer," said Jamshid, 28. Young men threw themselves in front of children and older people to shield them from the bullets. 66-96 people were killed over the course of the next several hours, according to human rights groups. In one video, analyzed by the New York Times, snipers in plain clothes are seen on the police station roof firing into the street.
2022-10-18 00:00:00
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