Security forces have opened fire on protesters during ongoing nationwide protests in Iran, with the death toll rising to at least 648, including minors, according to the Iran Center for Human Rights.
The center said unconfirmed reports suggested that at least several hundred people, and some estimates put the death toll at more than 6,000.
The internet shutdown and severe restrictions on access to information since January 8 have made it extremely difficult to verify information. The number of people arrested during the latest protests is estimated to have exceeded 10,000.
Multiple witnesses told the BBC that security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij militia, used automatic weapons and fired on protesters as well as civilians.
The authorities have shut down the internet and are refusing to release official figures on casualties, describing the protests as “terrorist acts,” while hospitals and morgues are overflowing with the dead and wounded, according to doctors and sources.
