Iranian riot police have been heavily criticized for opening fire at demonstrators in the city of Susangerd near the border with Iraq as people took to the street for a fifth straight night to protest against water shortages in the southwestern Ahvaz province.
The violence by anti-riot forces came as demonstrations spread to more of the province’s towns. On Monday morning, footage circulated by activists showed a plane with special Iranian forces onboard landing at the Ahvaz International Airport.
On social media, activists shared videos of protests extending from the outskirts of Ahvaz to the provincial city’s center.
The sound of gunfire to disperse the protesters is heard in the first moments of the videos.
Meanwhile, the city of Hamidiyeh witnessed renewed protests against the suppression of protesters in several other cities.
Videos from Sunday night showed officers shooting at demonstrators in Susangerd, the center of the unrest in Khuzestan province, where protesters in Arab towns are protesting against authorities’ rerouting the course of the Karun and Karkheh rivers away from the area and deep into Iranian territory.
Footage showed riot police on motorcycles firing at protesters. In one clip, a police officer fires a pistol into the air; at least one other shot is heard.
In some of the footage, injured individuals can be seen, and at least one resident was killed in the city that is wedged between the two branches of Karkheh.
Eyewitnesses said that skirmishes between protesters and police forces, which began on Sunday evening, continued well into the dawn of Monday. They reported police forces using tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and batons to disperse the demonstrators.
In one of the clips that circulated widely, the wails of a woman, who was beaten by the police, can be heard despite her constant affirmation that protests were peaceful.