Violent clashes rock the western City of Piranshar - SMCCDI

Violent clashes rocked, yesterday, the western City of Piranshahr as angry residents attacked official buildings, banks, security patrol cars and trucks. The riot took place following the murder of a resident, by Islamist Militiamen, and the refusal of the local authorities to restitute the body of the victim to his family.

Security forces closed all accesses to the Governor's Office and resorted to shooting when facing an increasing number of demonstrators. Several demonstrators were injured and one has been reported in critical conditions.

Additional troops were sent from the neighboring cities in order to control the situation which remains tense. The residents are requesting the public trial of agents involved in the murder and the shooting.

The [attempt] of [a] take over of the popular action, by individuals affiliated to some separatist groups, was a main reason that residents stopped their riot but they're requesting the public trial of agents involved in the murder and the shooting.

The area was also scene of other clashes, last year, but again, the opportunist try of separatist groups, such as the so-called Democratic Party of Kurdistan 'of Iran',(PDKI) to claim leadership of the situation brought the local residents to stop their protest actions.

While some foreign circles are evaluating a possibility to create ethnic unrest in Iran, in order to harm the Islamic regime, the reality is that such wrong tactic helps the Islamists to stop popular actions in Iran's border zones. Most Iranians, of every ethnicity, are profoundly attached to Iran and its territorial integrity and the regime plays such nationalistic feeling in its own favor.

The Bush Administration which has correctly understood such sentiment and George W. Bush, the US President, declared last July about the "necessity to respect the territorial integrity of Iran". Such positive and unprecedented statement resulted, few days later, in consecutive unrests in Iran's western border zones, but which stopped, few days later and as soon as, some meaningless separatist groups, helped by foreign circles, tried to claim the ownership of the situation.