Iranian Protesters Defy Crackdown In Flashpoint City Of Sanandaj

The western Iranian city of Sanandaj was once again the scene of anti-government protests on the night of January 30 despite an ongoing crackdown by security forces on nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Footage obtained by IranWire shows protesters blocking a road in the city center by setting tyres on fire.

The demonstrators chanted slogans against the Islamic Republic’s leadership such as "Death to the dictator" and "Death to Khamenei," in reference to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

شامگاه امروز ۱۰ بهمن، #اعتراضات_سراسری در شهر سنندج از سر گرفتند. در ویدیوی منتشر شده، جوانان سنندج با روشن کردن آتش اقدام به بستن خیابان‌ها کرده و علیه نظام جمهوری اسلامی شعار می‌دهند.#اعتصابات_سراسری #مهسا_امینی #شهروندخبرنگار pic.twitter.com/Mjtc7sWW3F

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) January 30, 2023

The protests reportedly started after news emerged that two Kurdish Sunni clerics who have voiced support for the protests in their sermons had been arrested.

Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province, has been a flashpoint of the protests that have rocked the country for more than four months. It is the hometown of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose death on September 16 in the custody of Tehran’s morality police triggered the wave of anger.

The authorities have cracked down hard on the protest movement, killing more than 520 people and detaining over 18,000, activists say.

The demonstrations and state clampdown have been particularly intense in the country’s western Kurdish areas and Sistan and Baluchistan province, home to Iran’s Sunni Baluch minority.