Balochistan: Military Raid in Qaleh-Ganj and Widespread Home Demolitions in Zahedan
DOZZAAP, BALOCHISTAN: Reports from the Baloch Activists Campaign and local residents indicate a sharp escalation in state pressure on Baloch communities across Iranian Occupied Balochistan, marked by a targeted military raid in Qaleh-Ganj and large-scale home demolitions in Zahedan that have left families injured, displaced, and without legal recourse.
On Monday, November 17, 2025, Iranian military forces raided the home of a Baluch resident in Qaleh-Ganj in an attempt to arrest him, according to the Baloch Activists Campaign. The man, identified as Ashkan Mahmoudi son of Khodadad, was not present at the time of the raid.
Mahmoudi is the husband of Somayeh Mahmoudinejad, who was shot and killed in 2022 by a police officer in front of her 8-year-old child. The officer was later detained and executed in Kerman Prison in 2024.
Sources said that around 11 a.m., military personnel attempted to force open the locked door of Mahmoudi’s home. His brother arrived and unlocked the door, allowing the forces to carry out a search.
They then proceeded to Mahmoudi’s father’s residence, where they questioned him about Ashkan’s whereabouts and reportedly threatened that if he did not turn himself in, the family might “receive his dead body.”
No official explanation has been provided for the attempted arrest. However, some sources believe it may be connected to Mahmoudi’s reported support for Baluch fuel carriers, a group that state-aligned media in Kerman have recently targeted with negative coverage.
The raid in Qaleh-Ganj comes amid widespread demolitions carried out over the past week in Zahedan, where Iranian military personnel and municipal authorities have destroyed dozens of homes in predominantly Baloch districts.
On November 14 and 15, 2025, coordinated raids took place in Zahedan’s Keshavarz district. Bulldozers and excavators were deployed to demolish homes without prior warning or legal orders. Residents reported threats of arrest and intimidation when they attempted to protest.
Authorities claimed the demolitions were justified on grounds of “national land” and “illegal land occupation,” though families stated that ancestral lands were being seized and redistributed to individuals affiliated with the government.
A similar operation occurred on November 16 in the Shirabad area along Kalat Boulevard, where approximately 70 operational personnel and 20 vehicles were deployed. During the demolition, a child and his mother were injured by collapsing debris. Witnesses reported further intimidation, threats and attempted arrests of local residents, though community resistance prevented detentions.
The operation in Shirabad was reportedly overseen by Ibrahim Tayebi, head of executive operations at Zahedan Municipality. Residents described his interactions with protesting families as hostile and dismissive of their safety concerns. Many families were unable to remove essential belongings before their homes were destroyed, and demolitions were carried out at close range, endangering nearby residents.
Human rights groups have repeatedly documented similar operations across Iranian Occupied Balochistan. The Baloch Activists Campaign’s 2024 annual report recorded at least 30 residential demolitions, along with the destruction of three schools, one Sunni mosque, and multiple private properties by military forces.
Activists view these actions as part of a broader campaign of coercion, demographic engineering and systematic marginalisation targeting Baloch communities.
Taken together, the attempted arrest of Ashkan Mahmoudi in Qaleh-Ganj and the sweeping home demolitions in Zahedan underscore a growing pattern of intimidation, forced displacement and human rights abuses in the region, raising fresh concerns about impunity, lack of legal oversight and the increasing vulnerability of Baloch residents.
