Iranian Protesters Recount the ‘War Zone’ That Left Thousands Dead | WSJ

TL;DR

Iranian security forces massacred thousands of protesters using Kalashnikovs and mounted machine guns after the regime cut all internet and communications to suppress the uprising.

Key Points

• 1.Protests erupted nationwide in January after the son of the former Shah called people to the streets at 8 PM; within 30 minutes, security forces shifted from warning shots to direct fire on crowds.
• 2.The regime deployed "Dushka" mounted machine guns on military transporters — heavy-caliber weapons whose bullets "lit up the sky" and instantly silenced entire crowds of protesters.
• 3.All internet and mobile communication was cut immediately; the government sent SMS threats from the Ministry of Intelligence warning families to keep children home or risk them being killed.
• 4.One witness described a cemetery warehouse holding an estimated 2,000 bodies stacked in two layers of black body bags, with more being unloaded continuously while grieving families searched for loved ones.
• 5.Survivors and witnesses now live in exile, unable to return to Iran without facing arrest, but say they cannot stay silent about what they describe as crimes against humanity committed by the regime.