The state security forces arrested a resident of Marvaneh Village in the southwestern province of Khuzestan for protesting inadequate relief response by the government and trying to stop the IRGC from breaking the villagers’ flood barriers.
Khalaf Mardani, who was taken to an unknown location, along with other villagers were trying to stop the IRGC from breaking the flood barriers and diverting flood water to their farmlands.
This comes after floods ravaged the north, south and west of Iran with angry Iranians complaining that the regime was not providing adequate relief to the victims.
Just days before Mardani’s arrest, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired on protesters who tried to stop it from diverting floodwaters also in a southwestern town, resulting in a protester’s death.
Reports indicate the protester died after being shot by IRGC forces on a Wednesday confrontation in the Dasht-e-Azadegan district of Khuzestan province.
The locals were trying to stop the IRGC from destroying a dyke and diverting floodwaters into their farmland, which were their only source of income.
The protester who lost his life has been named locally as Aboud Jalizi.
The father of six died due to the severity of his wounds in a hospital in the southwestern city of Ahwaz on Thursday.
The state-run Fars news agency affiliated with the IRGC on Wednesday confirmed that shots were fired in the incident and said two policemen and a villager were injured.
Fars said authorities tried to persuade the villagers to evacuate their homes and allow the destruction of the dyke in return for compensation. It also said the dyke was removed later in the day.
According to local officials across Iran, severe losses have been sustained due to the floods that hit 28 of the country’s 31 provinces during the past week.
While no comprehensive reports regarding the economic impact of the floods is available yet, reports have surfaced saying a terrible blow has been dealt to housing, roads, farmlands, animal husbandry farms, and fish farms. As well, officials who deal with agriculture announced a preliminary estimate of $200 million worth of destruction to that sector.
There will be more thunderstorms and floods in the upcoming days in Iran.
