From WorldNetDaily, haven’t found other sources yet, so this needs verification. EFL.
Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Guard forces under the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly killed a 10-year-old boy in the country’s minority Baloch region yesterday, touching off a massive uprising against the Islamic regime countered by a deadly crackdown and imposition of martial law, according to sources on the scene.
| I'm not going to get real excited over this. If Pakland's version of Baluchistan erupted, I'd be hoping the Paks put them down mercilessly, too... |
Amid burning banks, stores and government offices, at least 30 Baloch protesters are dead and 80 injured in the southeastern city of Saravan near the Pakistani border, said Malek Meerdora, who immigrated to Canada from the city in 1993. Meerdora told WorldNetDaily the Iranian government has attempted to shut off communication from the city, but he has been in contact with sources there via satellite telephone and the Internet. He said soldiers approached the 10-year-old, Haroun Balochzahi, and grabbed his bike from him, insisting on a bribe. The boy did not speak Farsi, the majority language, and responded by biting a soldier and running. The youth was shelled with bullets in front of people on the streets and died on the spot, Meerdora said, prompting an immediate reaction.
| I'd take that account with a grain of salt, too... |
In an unusual display of resistance to the hard-line, cleric-led regime, a crowd set a military jeep on fire and began beating the soldiers, Meerdora said.
| I don't think the Baluchs have anything against a hard-line, cleric-led regime. They'd just rather have their own clerics in charge... |
Later, at about 1:30 p.m., thousands of Balochs, including many from surrounding cities, began to congregate on the streets in protest.
| "rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb..." |
Revolutionary Guard soldiers opened fire on the crowd, hitting up to 80 people, witnesses claimed.
| "You may fire when ready, Mahmoud!" |
The entire city and surrounding area is raised up against the Tehran government, Meerdora said, burning down symbols of the regime and attacking Iranian officials. Crowds reached the offices of the mayor, commissioners and chief of police and beat them, he said, and many soldiers have been beaten by unarmed citizens.
| "Yar! We be Bugtis!... Errr... Baluchis!" |
The director of the hospital has been warned by the government to not take in any wounded protesters, and some Balochs have been shot in front of the hospital, according to Meerdora’s sources. He said security forces went to the hospital and killed people in their rooms. About 300 people have been jailed, and uncooperative prisoners have had their tongues cut out, he said. "I mark this as a day of revolution," Meerdora said. "I think the Iranian government will face more problems."
| I mark this as a day of rioting. I don't think it'll come to anything unless it spreads to the more civilized parts of the country... |
He said throughout the evening, Revolutionary Guard forces watched over the people from roof tops, prepared to fire at anyone who moves from his home. No one is allowed to enter or leave the city, he added. Similar to the Kurds, the Balochs, who comprise 2 percent of Iran’s population, regard themselves as a nation separated by borders – in their case the frontier between Iran and Pakistan, which also has a sizable Baloch minority.
| Yeah. We hear from them regularly. |
Politically the Baloch identify as Muslims, but most do not practice Islam, Meerdora said.
| I think they mean they don't practice Shia Islam. Most are Sunnis, I believe... |
Maybe another Rantburger has seen some info. This seems to based on one person with a satellite phone connection to the war zone. Like Fred sez, we need some more data points. |