The streets of Tehran turned bloody Monday, as police in riot gear confronted hundreds of protesters denouncing the government’s admission of shooting down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board, most of them Iranian citizens.
The protests entered a third day in several cities across the country, as anger shifted from the United States for the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3, to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which admitted its role in the downed airliner after days of denial.
Video taken by several citizen journalists across Iran showed peaceful demonstrations, as well as a bloody escalation of violence.
A citizen journalist describes the scene on a street in Tehran, “This is blood. It is people’s blood shed here. It is real blood.” VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of this content.
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Woman Shot in Tehran
A citizen journalist captures two women wounded by pellet shots in Tehran. One confirms her injury, while the other is carried to a car by protesters.
On Azadi Street, cars and protesters clogged the major artery.
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Azadi Street
Protesters on Azadi Street in Tehran chant, “You are tyrants. Don’t call us seditioners.”
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Drivers honk their horns on Azadi
Drivers honk their horns on Azadi Street in support of protesters.
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Protesters on Azadi Street
Protesters on Azadi Street chant, “Security forces, support us.”
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Protesters on Azadi Street sing
Protesters on Azadi Street sing an Iranian resistance anthem, “Yar-e-Dabestani man (My Grade-School Friend).”
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Sharif University of Technology in Tehran
At Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, students demand answers. “We want clarity,” they said. “This country is suffering from a lack of transparency. They lied to us for all these years. … They treat us as donkeys.”
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Kurdish Sanandaj city
West of Tehran in Kurdish Sanandaj city, police in riot gear used batons to disperse protesters.
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Amol city north of Tehran
In Amol city north of Tehran, police arrest three or four people in Qaem Square.
VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos.