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Opposition Supporters, Police Clash in Iran

   VOA News 26 December 2009

   Fierce  clashes between government forces and opposition supporters in
   Iran are reportedly growing more violent and spreading.
   Reformist  Web  sites say the skirmishes broke out Saturday in central
   Tehran,  and  that  riot  police  used tear gas to try to disperse the
   protesters.
   Witnesses  say some of the demonstrators have been beaten or arrested,
   and that riot police smashed the windows of honking cars.
   One  Web  site,  Rah-e-Sabz, says riot police have also been joined by
   elite   government   forces.   Another  Web  site,  Jaras,  says  some
   protesters  sought  shelter  in  a building belonging to the ISNA news
   agencies, but that government forces followed them inside.
   Reformists have recently been staging protests to coincide with public
   events.   On  Friday,  a senior, hardline Iranian cleric Ahmad Khatami
   warned   opposition   activists  not  to  use  the  holiday  to  stage
   anti-government protests.
   Saturday's  demonstrations  come as Iran's Shi'ite Muslims observe the
   Ashura religious holiday.  Ashura ceremonies culminate Sunday.
   During  the  holiday,  Shi'ite  worshipers  mourn  the seventh-century
   killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
   On  Monday,  hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral of a
   dissident  cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, an event that
   evolved into a giant anti-government demonstration.
   Iranian authorities cracked down on the protesters at Monday's funeral
   and at subsequent rallies following Montazeri's death.
   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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