Human rights sources say that dozens of people have been killed by Iranian security agents in recent weeks as a deadly crackdown intensifies in the country's western Kurdistan region, which has been the epicenter of anti-establishment protests that have raged for months following the death of a young woman in police custody.
Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Iran's Kurdish regions, reported that the security forces killed at least 42 Kurdish citizens between November 15 to November 21 while using live ammunition against protesters.
The France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network wrote in a report that government forces killed at least 14 Kurdish citizens in the cities of Javanrud, Piranshahr, Sanandaj, Dehgolan, and Bukan during three days from November 19 to 21.
Activists say the violence is an attempt by the authorities to create fear among protesters and quell the nationwide protests that have rocked the country since Mahsa Amini died on September 16 after being detained by police for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.
What began as protests against the brutal enforcement of the mandatory head scarf has snowballed into one of the biggest threats to Iran's clerical establishment since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
At least 378 people, including 47 children, have been killed by security forces across the country, according to the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group. At least 83 people have been killed in Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan, three provinces with significant Kurdish populations, IHR said.
Activist reports also indicate that hundreds of people have been arrested and scores injured, with many people missing after being detained by security forces.