Nearly a month on, horrifying details continue to trickle out from the killing of scores of civilians in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan — the capital of Sistan-Balouchistan province and home to the ethnic Balouch community who are followers of Sunni Islam — under the Shiite-led central government.  

The killings occurred on Sept. 30, a day described by government critics as "the bloody Friday" when police, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij forces gunned down at least 96 people, according to tallies documented by rights advocacy organizations. The violence was the worst in a single day since Iran was rocked by nationwide unrest triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in mid-September.  

Prior to the Zahedan tragedy, campaigns gained momentum for protests against the alleged rape by a local police commander of a 15-year-old girl from the Sunni Balouch community in the city of Chabahar in the same province. Following Sunni Friday prayers in Zahedan's Makki Mosque, angry protesters marched toward a nearby police station, where security forces and Basij militia used live ammunition indiscriminately from rooftops. Iranian authorities say the protesters were armed, an argument rejected by activists.  

Local sources in the city have confirmed to Al-Monitor that the IRGC also deployed drones to target some of the protesters in flashpoint districts, while helicopters and snipers fired randomly into the crowds.