SHIRAZ: As security forces engaged demonstrators to mark 40 days after Mahsa Amini’s death in detention, armed men assaulted a Shia shrine in Shiraz, killing at least 15, according to state news agency IRNA.
The assailants, who were in a vehicle, opened fire on visitors and employees at the Shah Cheragh shrine’s gate, according to witnesses, who were quoted by the news agency. Two of the three “terrorists” were apprehended by police, and they were searching for the third.
Several women and children were among the deceased, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
According to a witness, the incident occurred on the same day that Iranian security forces fired on mourners gathering in Saqez, Amini’s hometown in the Kurdish region of Iran.
The witness said that “riot police shot mourners who had assembled at the cemetery for Mahsa’s mourning service…dozens had been detained.” The Iranian government was unable for comment.
About 10,000 people had assembled at the cemetery, according to Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency, which also reported that security personnel and protesters there had fought, cutting off internet access.
Despite the significant riot police presence, videos posted on social media showed thousands of Iranians heading towards the cemetery where Amini is buried. In order to honour the 40 days after she passed away after being held for “inappropriate dress,” activists had arranged for demonstrations around the nation.
The 22-year-murder old’s on September 16 while being held by Iran’s morality police sparked protests that have grown to be one of the most audacious threats to the religious government since the 1979 revolution.
Many different Iranians have taken to the streets, with some calling for the Islamic Republic to topple.
Men and women have gathered at Amini’s tomb in the Aichi cemetery in Saqez, shouting “Woman, Life, Freedom,” according to a witness. Another witness in Saqez claimed that riot police and volunteers from the Basij militia were also there in large numbers in the cemetery.
“But there are people here from all around the Kurdistan region. Together, we are all grieving the loss of Mahsa.”
Security officers had ordered her family not to conduct a memorial march or “their son will be jailed,” according to rights organisations, out of concern that the 40-day anniversary of Amini’s murder would spark further violent demonstrations.
However, according to state media, Kurdistan’s governor, Zarei Kusha, disputed that the state had any restrictions on conducting a memorial ceremony and stated that “it was the family’s decision not to host a gathering.”
