Clashes Erupt In Restive Iranian Province After Teen Dies In Accident With Police Car

Protests in Fanouj on April 25.

Clashes have erupted between security forces and civilians in the southeastern Iranian city of Fanouj amid protests sparked by the death of a teen when his motorcycle collided with a police car.

In response to the protests on April 25, the deputy of the police command in the region, Ali Rahimi, said expert teams have been dispatched to investigate the possible role of police officers in inciting the violence after the accident, which left 16-year-old Samir Gerdehani dead.

Although the situation in the town, located in Sistan-Baluchistan Province, has been described by police as "calm" and "normal," residents said tensions remain high amid claims that officers fired on the crowd during the protest.

Officials have not commented on what caused Gerdehani's death.

Videos on social media show protesters throwing rocks at a police station, with the sound of gunshots in the background. Local sources, including the news site Haalvsh, reported that police officers fired on the crowds, leaving several people injured.

Haalvsh reported that in addition to Gerdehani, three other motorcyclists also were injured after being hit by a police vehicle, while three others were injured from gunfire. One of the wounded is in a coma, Haalvsh added, quoting sources.

The province of Sistan-Baluchistan in the southeast of Iran has been the epicenter of protests in Iran for months.

In Zahedan on September 30, almost 100 people were killed and hundreds injured by security forces amid unrest triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl by a local police commander.

The government has unleashed a brutal crackdown to quell the unrest -- one of the deepest challenges to the Islamic regime since the revolution in 1979 -- that erupted following Amini's death.

Sunni Muslims make up a majority of the population in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan and Kurdistan provinces, but account for only about 10 percent of the population in Shi'a-dominated Iran overall.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda