Rudaw:

Javanrud is a predominantly Kurdish border city of Kermanshah Province, Iran with a population of more than 50,000 residents.

The population's main source of income is cross-border trade with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. However, their work, known to locals as kolbari ,was declared prohibited by the Iranian Council of Ministers on December 17, 2017 which has hit local residents hard.

Kolbars are porters who transport goods across the Kurdistan Region-Iran border either on their back or with horses. Some also smuggle banned goods, including alcohol, into Iran.

It is a risky profession, crossing dangerous mountain passes riddled with mines left over from the Iran-Iraq war. They also risk coming under fire from Iranian security forces.

In the past two years, Javanrud kolbars and their families have tried hard to dissuade the government from prohibiting the trade, to no avail.

Javanrud mayor Arash Lihony promised to discuss the issue with his superiors, but his efforts cost him his post and he was subsequently removed from office by the government.

The people of Javanrud have barely managed to make a living in the past two years, yet the government has tightened the noose around their neck amid the continued economic crisis worsened by US sanctions.

Their miserable living conditions prompted locals to pour into the streets of their marginalized city on November 16 as part of the nationwide demonstrations to protest skyrocketed fuel prices in mid-November.

"Dozens of people mobilized," an eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing crackdown from security forces, told Rudaw. "The security forces dispersed the protesters very quickly."

"In addition to policemen and the army, a significant amount of Itlaat [Iranian Ministry of Intelligence] forces in civilian clothing mingled into the crowds while armed policemen prepared to shoot."

He added as soon as the protests turned violent, he fled the scene

"I saw people running for a cover after we heard gunshots," he explained.

Protests erupted across Iran following a government decision to raise petrol prices by as much as 300 percent.

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