Balochistan: Iranian Military and Housing Foundation Destroy Two Homes in Chabahar

DOZZAAP (ZAHEDAN): Iranian military forces in plain clothes, along with personnel from the National Land Organization (Urban Land) and the Housing Foundation, carried out a raid on the Houtabad area of Chabahar County on Sunday and Monday, February 9 and 10, 2025.

The forces destroyed two homes, including one under construction, belonging to Baloch citizens and subjected local workers to physical abuse.

According to reports from the Campaign for Baloch Activists, the raid began on Sunday morning when military and foundation personnel entered the area, brutally beating workers residing in the homes.

In addition to the physical violence, the officers proceeded to destroy parts of the residential buildings, including doors, windows, and walls. The workers were threatened with further harm if they continued their work before the officials left the area.

A local resident, who filmed the incident, criticized the authorities for their repeated destruction of homes.

The citizen claimed, “You (officials) destroyed the people’s homes about a month ago, and when people protested, you promised to file cases against those responsible. But you lied again. You are all in collusion, and now you’ve come back to destroy the homes. You lied for a month, and now, when things seemed calm, you started again. When will you stop oppressing us?

“After the violent incident last month, when a Baloch woman’s house was destroyed, all of you officials said that construction was allowed. We built one home, but you destroyed even that. Half of this house was destroyed, and after the rest of the family left, the perpetrators fled. If your actions are legal or sanctioned by a court, why are you running from us?”

The destruction continued into the early hours of Tuesday, February 11, when Housing Foundation officers and military forces again raided the area. They destroyed the home of an elderly couple, whose head of household had a leg injury and was unable to stop them. In addition to demolishing the house, the forces also stole the air conditioning unit from the property.

This wave of demolitions has become more frequent in recent months, as part of the Iranian government’s controversial “Development of the Makran Coast” project, which it claims aims to “change the demographic structure” of Balochistan’s coastal regions.

However, analysts believe the Iranian government seeks to flood Balochistan’s coastal belt with non-Baloch settlers from Tehran and other regions, thus altering the region’s demographic balance and pushing the Baloch people farther from strategic areas such as the port of Chabahar.

The destruction of Baloch homes has accelerated under this initiative, with the government seeking to seize land and forcibly displace Baloch citizens from their ancestral territories.

The Free Balochistan Movement, which advocates for a united Balochistan and views Iranian state as an occupier, similar to Pakistan’s role in Balochistan, has strongly condemned the demolition of Baloch homes and Iran’s attempts to alter the demographic composition of Balochistan by settling non-Baloch people in the region.

Last year alone, at least 30 separate cases of Baloch homes being demolished under various pretexts were reported in Iranian-occupied Balochistan.

In addition, three Sunni schools and mosques were destroyed, and several reports have indicated that Iranian military forces damaged personal property belonging to Baloch citizens. This has sparked growing concern among Baloch people, who fear that the Iranian government’s actions will further erode Baloch culture, identity, and rights in the region.