Word: basij
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...response was indeed crushing. Members of the élite Revolutionary Guard and the dreaded paramilitary group the Basij rushed the initial crowd gathered at Enqelab (Revolution) Square with batons at around 5 p.m. One woman who was fleeing the scene had bloodstains on her white skirt splattered from demonstrators nearby. But pockets of protesters numbering in the hundreds soon resurfaced along many of the main streets north and east of Enqelab Square and in the city's main squares. (Read "In Iran, Demonstrations Bring New Violence...
Around Laleh Park, which was the heart of the demonstration, several undercover Basij members emerged from the crowd wielding collapsible batons to beat those who were recording the events on cell-phone cameras. At one point, a stocky thug, wearing a baseball cap and a surgical mask to conceal his identity, emerged threateningly only to retreat after the crowd surged around him, yelling "Please stop" in unison. Meanwhile, not far away, a squad of Revolutionary Guards angrily demanded to be let into an upscale hotel that many protesters had escaped into...
...hours, the energy of the crowds seemed infinite, undiminished by the baton-wielding Basij zipping by on motorbikes. One student stood resolutely on the sidewalk of Fatemi Street and said, "We will not give up. First, Ahmadinejad. Then Khamenei. Then freedom...
...night fell, the Revolutionary Guard and Basij surged in numbers, swarming through nearly all of Tehran's main streets and into the alleys, where protesters ran for haven. By 9 p.m., it was over. Save for burning trash cans and broken glass, the streets were empty of foot traffic, though plenty of cars continued to crawl along the major boulevards (apparently the security forces targeted only people on foot...
...Gangs of Basij motorcyclists, often numbering in the dozens, swerved in and out of the traffic, some with their helmets off and their batons in the air, shouting in victory. At Vanak Square, one of the main sites of the protest, soldiers lined the roundabout every five feet with perhaps a hundred more gathered on the sidewalks. Dozens of Revolutionary Guard vans were parked at Enqelab Square and Vanak Square, along with similar numbers of security forces. Iran's opposition movement believes today could mark the beginning of a new wave of public demonstrations and resistance. But for government forces...