Iranian Kurds protest substandard roads in their region

MARIWAN, Iran (Kurdistan24) – Iranian Kurds have been rallying in the streets since Tuesday to protest the road conditions in their region.

In the city of Mariwan, Kurdistan Province (Rojhelat) Kurds have been gathering to protest the substandard roads in their neighborhood which have taken a disproportionate number of lives due to car accidents.

Protestors also asked the governorate to put a halt to the oil tanks’ commute which were transferring raw oil from the Kurdistan Region to Iran.

In addition to increasing congestions on the roads, the trucks are said to have caused several deadly accidents.

Traffic accidents with high fatalities have outraged citizens who argue the lack of safety of Iran’s roads has become “an official murderer” of their community.

Locals say the current oil tanks have made the roads more dangerous than before.

Last week, the leaking from a crashed oil tank lit a few surrounding vehicles on fire, killing four people.

Hero Amani, a protestor, told Kurdistan24, “Everyone I know has lost family to the car accidents in the Sina-Mariwan road. This has to end.”

The governorate has reportedly refused to stop the oil tanks due to the contract they have with the Kurdistan Region.

Moreover, Iran in general has some of the deadliest roads in the world.

The precarious Sanandaj (Sina)-Mariwan road, a sub-standard mountainous and winding path, is labelled among Kurds as the “death road.”

According to an Iranian parliament report, in the year ending March 2012, over 20,000 were killed on Iran’s roads and nearly 300,000 were injured.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany