Security Forces Open Fire At Protesters In Kurdish Cities

Iranian security forces opened fire at protesters in two Kurdish cities on Saturday amid nationwide protests that started at universities in the morning and are continuing on streets. 

"Security forces are shooting at the protesters in Sanandaj and Saqqez," said the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a Kurdish rights group. The widely followed 1500Tavsir Twitter account also reported shootings at protesters in the two western Kurdish cities.

Hengaw also published a video of a driver who was shot dead by security forces just because he was showing his protest with a long honk. 

High school students in Sanandaj have joined the demonstrations, chanting, "Women, Life Liberty" while there was also a general strike in the city with all shops closed. 

Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights said on Saturday that at least 185 people have been killed in the uprising ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The NGO added that about 20 of the killed were minors. 

The protests first erupted in Mahsa Amini’s hometown Saqqez and capital Tehran and soon spread to all over the country and garnered support from Iranian expatriate communities around the world as well as foreign governments and officials. 

The Persian hashtag to express support for the protests has been retweeted over 270 million times and is still being used.