Anti-narcotic forces kill innocent child in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province
A five-year-old Baluch boy was killed during a police chase in the southeastern city of Iranshahr on May 10, 2021.
Narcotics forces fatally shot a 5-year-old Baluch boy identified as Meisam Narouie.
A short video of his lifeless body in the arms of his mother, who was crying out “God, my child” in Baluchi was published by Baluch social media channels.
Reports indicate locals gathered outside a nearby security checkpoint following the death of the little child and the atmosphere is very tense in the area.
Another video circulated on social media showed Baluch locals gathering at a checkpoint in Mohammadan, Iranshahr, to protest the killing of the Baluch child. The sounds of gunfire is being heard in the video.
According to Baluch media, tensions are high in the area with angry locals protesting the death of Meisam Narouie. Internet disruptions have also been reported in the area.
Sistan and Baluchestan is one of Iran’s poorest provinces. The predominantly Sunni Muslim locals are also subjected to ethnic and religious discrimination by the Iranian regime in the past four decades.
Baluch people are facing untold social and economic problems because of longstanding deprivation and poverty, which is becoming worse as inequality becomes more pronounced.
There are no jobs in the area and even educated people have to resort to smuggling fuel to make a living.
Dozens of people, including innocent bystanders, are killed every year in “anti-smuggling” operations in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
In the past week, anti narcotic forces have killed or wounded at least six civilians in the area.
On March 8, narcotics forces opened fire on a professor at the Suran Azad University in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, identified as Reza Hosseini. He was driving to Zahedan for his wife’s treatment when narcotic forces opened fire and flattened all his tires which stopped the car. Despite the unmoving car, the forces then shot Hosseini, severely wounding him in the head and neck. The professor was taken to the hospital and is currently in a coma.
On the same day, a Baluch citizen identified as Mohammad Amin Shahbakhsh was shot in the head and killed by anti narcotic forces.
In early May, three men were killed after undercover Iranian narcotic forces opened direct fire on them in Khash, southeastern Iran. The three men were identified as 45-year-old Hamid Gomshadzehi, 20-year-old Nazir Gomshadzehi, and 20-year-old Osman Gomshadzehi.
Iranian police and security forces carry out these shootings with impunity.
