On the streets of Tehran
: The latest, from Reuters:
Hundreds of Iranian hardline Islamic vigilantes, police and pro-democracy youths fought sporadic street battles near Tehran University on Wednesday, the anniversary of violent 1999 student unrest.
A witness said police fired tear gas at groups of youths near the campus and also fought hand-to-hand with plainclothes Islamic militiamen to prevent them from engaging in further battles with the pro-democracy youths.
“The atmosphere is very tense, the smell of tear gas is thick in the air. Police have clashed with youths, the youths have fought with Basijis (militiamen) and I saw police fighting Basijis trying to get closer to the university,” the witness said….
Hundreds of riot police reinforcements later poured in to take control of the area, dispersing crowds and chasing youths into side streets and beating them with batons.
Police appeared to have a firmer grip on security than during last month’s unrest, when at times they stood by and watched as vigilantes beat protesters with chains, cables and clubs and roared around on motorcycles attacking protesters at will.
But cars still clogged the downtown area into the night with drivers beeping horns when Basij or police were not looking.
: The news is little more than a brief in the Guardian.
