Riot police were deployed on Saturday after a number of arrests in the Iranian city of Isfahan, witnesses and state media said, a day after violent protests over the drying up of a lifeblood river.
Security forces fired tear gas during clashes on Friday with stone-throwers at the protest with around 500 people in the bed of the Zayadneh Rood river that crosses the central city, Fars and ISNA news agencies said.
Security forces made “a limited number of arrests”, according to the province's police chief.
“The situation is calm in the Zayandeh Roud riverbed and the streets are empty, but I heard riot police were deployed on the Khadjou bridge,” said a resident who works in the area.
The demonstration on Friday was the latest in a series in Isfahan. But it was the first to turn violent.
The riverbed has been the gathering spot for farmers and other people from across Isfahan province protesting the lack of water since November 9.
Drought is a cause, but they also accuse the authorities of diverting water from the city to supply the neighbouring province of Yazd, which is also desperately short on supplies.
