Iranian police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse a protest in the country’s southwest after a building collapsed that killed 28 people, local media reported yesterday.
The ten-story Metropol building under construction in Abadan, one of the largest cities in Khuzestan province, partly collapsed in the middle of a busy street on Monday.
Since Wednesday, nightly demonstrations have taken place in Abadan and other cities in Khuzestan demanding the prosecution of those responsible for the disaster, which is one of the most fatal crashes in recent years.
And Iranian news agency Fars reported that other demonstrations in solidarity with the families of the victims took place in several cities in central Iran, including Isfahan and Yazd, on Friday. The agency said: Security forces Friday night in Abadan “fired tear gas and warning shots” to disperse hundreds of protesters near the site of the collapse.
According to the Fars news agency, some protesters chanted “Death to incompetent officials.” The local court announced the arrest of 13 people, including the current mayor of Abadan and two former mayors of the city, considering them “guilty” of the tragedy.
In addition, in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan in southeastern Iran, militants who fired at their car killed a policeman and wounded his wife.
The official Iranian News Agency (IRNA) quoted Khadabakhsh Bakirshahi, deputy governor of the Delgan region, as saying: “The attack took place on Friday evening on the road connecting the city of Delgan with the Iranshahr road.
I spoke about the murder of police captain Abbas Ranjam, explaining that his wife, who was hit by a bullet, was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The Iranian Student News Agency quoted provincial police chief Ahmad Taheri as saying: “The attackers fired on the policeman’s car with Kalashnikovs before fleeing.
