The monitor stressed that the “deadliest repression” took place in the provinces of Lorestan and Ilam, home to Kurdish and Lur ethnic minorities.
A clash erupted on Sunday in Malekshahi in Iran’s Ilam province, where security forces opened fire on protesters with heavy weaponry, prompting protests of solidarity across Iran’s Kurdish-inhabited western regions (Rojhelat), culminating in a general strike on Thursday across Rojhelat.
Amnesty said that at least “28 protesters and bystanders, including children,” were killed across eight provinces as of Saturday, while the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization on Friday identified 42 protesters “killed by direct fire from government forces” during the recent nationwide protests.
Iran has intensified its crackdown on protesters as demonstrations continue to expand, despite government claims of a softer approach.