Iranian Authorities Destroy Homes of Ethnic Baluch in Zahedan

Iranian authorities have destroyed the homes of members of the Baluch community in the southeastern city of Zahedan, according to a group that monitors rights violations in Sistan and Baluchistan.

Haalvsh reported that police and municipal forces raided the homes in Shirabad neighborhood on the morning of November 30, cut off the electricity in the area and evicted the families before the houses were demolished using loaders.

The group reported a heavy security presence in the area.

It was unclear what prompted the destruction.

Zahedan is the capital of Sistan and Baluchistan, which is home to the country’s Sunni Baluch minority of up to 2 million people.

A few weeks ago, police sealed off private schools in the Shirabad area of Zahedan. The reason invoked was that the schools were being managed by Sunni clerics.

The Iranian Teachers' Union Council published a video of one of the schools, stating that at least 400 underprivileged students were enrolled there. 

The council emphasized that the teachers of the school, who received "meager salaries," were "prohibited from working."

According to the representative of Sistan and Baluchistan in the Supreme Council of Provinces, one third of students in the province are forced to drop out of school due to problems such as school shortages and rising tuition costs.