Iran maintains silence on 'massacre' in Sunni-majority city
Iranian authorities were accused of covering up the killing of over 90 Balouch minority civilians in what activists are mourning as "the bloody Friday."
Nearly a month on, horrifying details continue to trickle out from the killing of scores of civilians in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan — the capital of Sistan-Balouchistan province and home to the ethnic Balouch community who are followers of Sunni Islam — under the Shiite-led central government.
The killings occurred on Sept. 30, a day described by government critics as "the bloody Friday" when police, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij forces gunned down at least 96 people, according to tallies documented by rights advocacy organizations. The violence was the worst in a single day since Iran was rocked by nationwide unrest triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in mid-September.
