On September 30, 2022, after performing the Friday prayers in Zahedan, capital city of Sistan & Balochistan, security forces opened fire indiscriminately on the worshipers inside and outside the ex-Musalla of Sunnis in Razi street, killing dozens of them. Dozens more were injured in the bloody Friday of Zahedan.
SunniOnline reported that the incidents took place when some young people gathered in front of the police station that is in front of the Grand musalla, (the place where the Friday prayers held). Demonstrators protested against the accused rape case of a 15-year Baloch girl by a police officer in Chabahar, demanding the trial of the criminal officer. They threw stones at the police station. In reaction to the protesters’ action, the snipers, who were wearing local plain clothes, opened fires at worshippers from the roof of the police station and the roof of people’s houses. Dozens of worshippers were martyred and injured in this unrelenting attack.
The sniper soldiers shot directly at the heads and hearts of worshipers in the place of worship and outside the mosque.
At least more than 60 people were martyred and over 200 injured according to the latest statistics. Since many of the wounded are in critical condition, the death toll is likely to increase.
Many of the martyrs and injured people were shifted to the clinic of Darululoom Zahedan in the main campus next to the Grand Makki mosque. Dozens of people gathered in Zahedan’s Grand Makki Mosque. The conflict between the angry people and security forces continued for almost eight consecutive hours. Some of the wounded were shifted to hospital and the martyrs were taken into their towns.
There was no such a condition that the funeral prayers of all martyrs could be offered at one place.
Locals told us that there were conflicts for three days in different neighborhoods and suburbs of the Zahedan city, especially at nights. Some security men and senior intelligence officials lost their lives in these clashes.
Following this bloody incident, the most influential Iranian Sunni leader called on for the trial and punishment of the officials who were behind the attack.
‘Security forces are behind the bloody Friday of Zahedan’
In a video message, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid explained the details of the incident, saying: “Some do not know the details of the bloody incident which took place in Zahedan on Friday. Rumors and fake news have been reported and published in this regard by some media outlets and news agencies. Some want to hide the truth of the incident by releasing false news.”
“In order to reveal the truth to all, I want to speak as openly as I could and tell what happened in Zahedan on Friday so that no one’s rights are lost. On that Friday, I spoke about the current crisis in Iran (before the Friday prayers) and advised both the state officials and the people to be just and take care of moderation and avoid any kind of violence and tension against each other,” he added more.
Before the Friday prayers, Iran’s Sunni leader supported the peaceful protests in Iran, advising the officials not to kill the demonstrators, and allowing them to raise their voices and have their sayings. In his Friday sermons, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid alluded to the rape case of Chabahar and called on people of the province to keep calm and control their emotions until the officials announce the result.
In his message, the most influential Iranian Sunni scholar explained the Friday incident of Zahedan: “Just after the Friday prayers, while people were busy offering Sunnah prayers and worshipping, gunshots were heard. Then it became clear that after the prayers, some youth gathered in front of the police station, which is in front of the musalla. They chanted slogans and some of them threw stones at the police station.”
Worshipers martyred inside Musalla
According to the reports we have received, the forces of the special unit, who were already stationed at the base, started direct shot at the worshipers. Not only they shot the protesters, but they also shot the worshipers inside the Musalla from the roof of some buildings. They threw tear gas at the men and women and fired bullets as one female worshiper was martyred too.”
“They did so, while no one of the people inside the mosque had chanted any slogan. Only a small group of young people had gathered in front of the police station and chanted. Later, armed people dressed local cloths who were stationed on the roofs of the houses, targeted the people who were returning to their homes. It should be mentioned that the most of these shots were fired at the heads and hearts of the worshipers; this shows that such an action was carried out by snipers,” the Friday Imam of Sunnis urged.
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid considered this incident as a great tragedy and said: “Unfortunately, a great tragedy took place on the Friday. It was a great cruelty that was unprecedented in its kind. They shot unarmed and defenseless people who had made ablution and had gone to Musalla only to perform the Friday prayers.”
Inspiring the people to maintain peace and security, he said: “I invited the people to maintain peace and security in a televised message with the hope that this bloody incident will be investigated by the authorities seriously. Following this event, there have been some clashes in some parts of the city and some police officers may have been killed.”
President of Darululoom Zahedan questioned: “Why did the police forces not use facilities such as tear gas, plastic bullets, etc. to prevent from such tragedies?”
Don’t blame others
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid said: “These people must not have been treated in such a way that dozens of them were killed and injured just in a few hours. This was not the right of the people, and it is against the Islamic and the country’s laws. Some officials want to blame other people by changing the scene, while there are clear and obvious evidences that the military forces commit such an injustice.”
“The blood of these people should not be wasted. Therefore, we request the authorities to follow this issue seriously. We want justice. I convey the voice of the oppressed people to the authorities: those who killed our people unjustly should be brought to the court and must be punished,” said the Iranian Baloch political leader.
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid advised the people to pursue their rights while maintaining security and peace and said: “I emphasize to the people of Zahedan and the people of the province to maintain the security of the city and the province and pursue their legal rights that have been demanding and pursuing for forty-three years.”
“For forty-three years, we have been saying that Sunnis should be employed in the military and police forces; if there were Sunni personnel in the security forces and police, we may not have witnessed such a great loss,” he concluded his points.
Comments