Four protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces in Tehran as the opposition used a Shia mourning event to stage anti-government protests, it was claimed today.
“Three of our compatriots were martyred and two were injured in clashes. The reporter who was on the scene said these three were directly shot at by military forces,” Rahesabz.net, an Iranian opposition website said.
The website added that a fourth protester was also killed at a different location in the city centre. “The people are carrying the body of this martyr and are shouting slogans,” it said, citing witnesses.
According to the AFP news agency, police had earlier fired tear gas and used batons to beat back the protesters, who had surged in their thousands on to the streets of the capital for the second straight day chanting anti-government slogans. As riot police battled the demonstration, crowds of pro-government protesters gathered in the middle of the main Enghelab street to voice their support for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, witnesses said.
The anti-government protests were staged for a second straight day despite stern warnings by the authorities that they would crush attempts to use the Ashura processions, the most solemn ceremonies for Shia Muslims, for protests.
“Security forces beat up protesters taking refuge in houses near Imam Hossein square” on the eastern end of Enghelab street, which runs across the city, a witness said… >>>
