Iranian police have arrested not less than 16 individuals after they protested over the drying up of Lake Urmia in northwest Iran on July 16.
Lake Urmia started shrinking in 1995 as a consequence of a mixture of extended drought and the extraction of water for farming and dams, in accordance with the UN Setting Program.
Urmia, one of many largest “hypersaline” — or super-salty — lakes on this planet, is positioned between the cities of Tabriz and Urmia, with greater than 6 million individuals depending on agriculture round its shores.
Rahim Jahanbakhsh, the police chief of Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province, mentioned on July 17 that a number of individuals had been arrested for disturbing safety.
He described the suspects as “many evil and hostile parts, who had no different goal than to destroy public property and disturb the safety of the inhabitants,” in accordance with the official authorities information company IRNA.
Activists revealed the names of 16 people who had been detained. Stories mentioned dozens had been summoned by the authorities.
On July 16, the Fars information company reported that “dozens of individuals within the cities of Naghadeh and Urmia had protested towards the authorities’ lack of consideration to the drying-up of Lake Urmia.”
Fars mentioned protesters had shouted slogans within the provincial capital of Urmia, warning the lake was shrinking.
“Lake Urmia is dying, parliament orders its killing”, some shouted, Fars reported, with others calling out that “Lake Urmia is thirsty.”
Beginner movies posted on-line confirmed protesters calling safety forces “shameless.”
Largely arid Iran, like different close by nations, has suffered continual dry spells and warmth waves for years, that are anticipated to worsen with the impacts of local weather change.
In the previous couple of months, hundreds of individuals have demonstrated towards the drying-up of rivers, notably in central and southwestern Iran.
Lake Urmia is a crucial ecosystem, a key stopping level for migratory birds, and residential to an endemic shrimp in addition to different underwater species.
