Security forces have arrested many residents of Darreh Drezh neighbourhood (also Mahdiyeh town) of Kermanshah during the protest rallies that have been taking place in recent days.
People of the area have taken to the streets to express their support for the recent protests against water shortages in the southwestern Khuzestan province.
A source in Kermanshah that spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said: “The detainees, numbering at least 15, are ordinary civilians who have been arrested in connection with the recent protests in the Darreh Drezh neighbourhood of Kermanshah. Security and law enforcement forces surrounded the neighbourhood on Monday night, 26 July, and identified and arrested these individuals.”
There is no information on the situation and whereabouts of these people, the source added.
In recent days, Darreh Drezh neighbourhood of Kermanshah, one of the deprived areas in the city’s western suburbs, has witnessed mass rallies to protest against the water shortage and support widespread demonstrations in Ahwaz, Khuzestan province, and other cities.
A video from the protests posted on social media on 26 July showed some residents blocking the entrance to the neighbourhood. The sound of shooting was heard in the video while someone said: “This is a message for all the nations of Iran, Kermanshah supports Khuzestan”.
Sources in Kermanshah have also reported the widespread presence of military forces and a strict security atmosphere in the city.
Reports also indicate that forces took security measures in recent days in some other cities in Iran’s Kurdistan region, including Saqqez and Sanandaj.
The recent wave of protests by the Arab people in Ahwaz and other cities in the province continues. People are protesting against the government policies that dried up the region’s rivers and caused a lack of water.
Meanwhile, security and military forces have been extensively repressing the peaceful protestors.
According to the Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation and Amnesty International, at least nine civilians have been killed so far during the protests.
In recent days, the scope of these protests expanded to other cities across the country. People in various cities took to the streets to express support for Ahwaz and to protest the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
