Iran Says 100,000 to Join Balochistan Exercise as Video Shows Fatemiyoun Training at Girls’ School
DOZZAAP (ZAHEDAN): Iranian-occupied Balochistan’s provincial administration says 100,000 people are expected to take part in a military exercise involving the “Iran-Sacrificing” battalions, as a rights-monitoring group reports that a video appears to show forces affiliated with the Fatemiyoun militia conducting armed training inside a girls’ school.
Gholamreza Ganji, director general of the provincial administration’s Political Affairs Office, announced the planned participation at a coordination meeting on Monday, according to the Balochistan Human Rights Documentation Network. The administration did not provide details on the identities or affiliations of the forces expected to participate.
The rights group said a separate video recorded the previous day in the Gosht area of Saravan County showed individuals it identified as Fatemiyoun-affiliated forces receiving military training with firearms inside a newly built girls’ middle school. The school is reportedly located behind a Shia mosque.
Using a school for armed training raises concerns about using civilian educational facilities for military purposes and the potential risks to students and residents. In previous US attacks, schools and civilians were hit in similar controversial circumstances where the schools were either too close to military facilities or confused with military targets.
The latest concerns come amid reports of an increased presence of Fatemiyoun- and Zainabiyoun-affiliated forces in Iranian-occupied Balochistan. The Balochistan Human Rights Documentation Network said it had received accounts from residents alleging that Fatemiyoun-affiliated personnel in the Korin and Samsur areas of Zahedan had restricted access to mountainous and foothill areas and threatened civilians who entered them.
The organisation also cited audio recordings attributed to residents in which security personnel warned that the country was in a state of war and that people entering certain mountainous areas could be targeted by Fatemiyoun members.
Sources cited by the group further maintain that weapons had been pointed at civilians at several locations and that gunfire and mortar fire had occurred around motorcycles belonging to residents. The organisation said it had not independently established that bullets or mortar rounds had directly hit the motorcycles.
The reports follow an earlier incident in which the same organisation said four Afghan Hazara members affiliated with the Fatemiyoun were killed in an armed attack in the Rudmahi area of Zahedan’s Korin district. The attack reportedly occurred on 20 Shahrivar while the fighters were on patrol. The group said it subsequently revised an initial report that had put the death toll at 12 after reviewing information from multiple sources.
The Fatemiyoun is an Afghan Shiite militia that has fought alongside forces backed by Iran in regional conflicts. The Zainabiyoun is a related formation primarily composed of Pakistani Shiite fighters.
The announcement of the 100,000-person exercise, together with the allegations concerning armed groups operating in Balochistan, has raised questions about the composition and deployment of forces involved in the exercise and about where such personnel are being trained.
The Balochistan Human Rights Documentation Network has called for greater transparency regarding the affiliations of participants and the locations used for their deployment and training, particularly where educational facilities are involved.
