The Baluchis of Iran make up the ranks of a low-level violent insurgency involving several militant groups, including those demanding more autonomy for the region. The relationship between its predominantly Sunni residents and Iran’s Shia theocracy long has been fraught. Sistan and Baluchistan Province is one of most unstable and least developed parts of Iran. “This targeted shutdown was very intentional because they knew the realities of this province,” where people are poor and buy cheap phones as opposed to computers, Alimardani said. The area already suffered from unreliable internet connections. Given that authorities targeted the mobile network and not the landline, the disruption likely wouldn’t appear on regular network data, said Mahsa Alimardani, researcher at Article 19, an international organization that fights censorship. NetBlocks, which monitors worldwide internet access, called the reports of disruption “credible,” but couldn’t provide verification. Hundreds were reportedly killed in the crackdown nationwide. In the fall of 2019, for instance, Iran imposed a near nationwide internet blackout as anti-government protests sparked by an increase in fuel prices roiled the capital of Tehran and other cities. The Iranian government previously has cut off internet access and cellphone service in tense times. Officials insisted that calm had returned to the streets. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, vowed Friday to investigate the deaths. They have entered government offices and the regime has shut off the Internet. Many rights activists in the area reported higher death tolls without offering evidence.įacing dire poverty, violent repression, and constant violations of their dignity Iranians in the city of #Saravan have rebelled against the Islamic Republic. The government said at least two people were killed in the border shootings and ensuing clashes. One policeman was killed, he added.Įarlier this week, protesters attacked the district governor’s office and stormed two police stations in the city of Saravan, outraged over the shootings of fuel smugglers trying to cross back into Iran from Pakistan on Monday. Crowds with light arms and grenade launchers descended on Kurin checkpoint near Iran’s border with Pakistan on Thursday, Abouzar Mehdi Nakhaie, the governor of Zahedan, the provincial capital, said in comments carried by Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency. The week saw a series of escalating confrontations between police and protesters. “Shutting down the internet to block news and pictures getting out makes (authorities) feel more comfortable opening fire.” “This is Iran’s traditional response to any kind of protest,” Amir Rashidi from Miaan Group, a human rights organization that focuses on digital security in the Middle East, told The Associated Press on Saturday. Residents reported a restoration of internet access early Saturday. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.įor three days starting Wednesday, the government shut down the mobile data network across Sistan and Baluchistan, where 96 percent of the population accesses the internet only through their phones, rights groups said, crippling the key communication tool.
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