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Iranian security forces opened fire after Friday prayers in the city of Zahedan, killing at least 66 people, in what is the bloodiest day of the recent wave of protests in the country so far. People are calling the Zahedan massacre “Bloody Friday” after tensions reached a breaking point in the capital of Iran’s poorest province.
The scene took place in Zahedan, the capital of the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. The people of this province, like the people of the whole country, have been protesting against the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was detained by the morality police.
But in Sistan and Baluchistan, other issues are at play. As Iran’s poorest province, it is also home to the Baluch Sunni minority, who complain of decades of neglect and economic hardship. Local tensions have recently been heightened by an allegation that a police chief in Chabahar port raped a 15-year-old Baluch girl.
In this special report, we describe how tensions rose after people finished their Friday prayers at the Zahedan prayer site, which is just across the street from a police station.
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