Sounds of heavy gunfire, blasts and relentless shooting reverberated across the western Iranian city of Sanandaj on Tuesday, witnesses confirmed to Al-Monitor. Security forces were heavily deployed there to crush dissent in the Kurdish city.
Riot police backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Basij militia have maintained a large presence in Sanandaj since protests were ignited by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody last month. As the rallies became nationwide anti-government demonstrations, Sanandaj saw some of the worst violence, particularly on Saturday, when government forces killed at least four protesters on the streets, according to a tally by the opposition rights organization Hengaw.
