106 killed in Iran—Amnesty
Days of protests in Iran over rising fuel prices and a subsequent government crackdown have killed more than 100 people across the country, according to rights group Amnesty International.
In a statement on Tuesday, the UK-based organisation accused Iranian security forces of using “excessive and lethal force” to crush the demonstrations since they started on Friday.
“At least 106 protesters in 21 cities have been killed, according to credible reports,” Amnesty said. “The real death toll may be much higher with some reports suggesting as many as 200 have been killed.”
Iranian authorities have not offered a definitive account of how many people have been injured or killed in the protests.
But the semi-official ISNA news agency reported late on Monday that three members of Iran’s security forces were killed by “rioters” near the capital, Tehran.
Meanwhile, at least two civilians have been killed and several others wounded in overnight Israeli air attacks on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, according to Syria’s state media.
According to Sana, a house in the town of Sasa, southwest of Damascus, was hit in a missile attack early yesterday, which resulted in the building’s destruction and the death of two civilians.
Earlier, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant- Colonel Avichay Adraee said fighter jets had hit multiple targets belonging to the elite Quds Force-—the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)—and the Syrian army, including surface-to-air missiles, weapons warehouses and military bases.
Israel’s military said its missile defence system had shot down four rockets fired from Syria towards Israel on Tuesday.
It warned to continue “operating firmly and for as long as necessary” against Iranian presence in the Syria.
Israel says it has carried out hundreds of raids in Syria to stop what it describes as the delivery of advanced weaponry to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, whose fighters are present in southern Lebanon.—Al Jazeera
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