For a second time in a week, Iran’s opposition drew tens of thousands of supporters to the streets across the nation on Sunday calling for the end to the Islamic Republic’s rule.

In response, the government unleashed what witnesses said was an extraordinary number of security forces to violently battle the crowds. Witnesses said mobs of anti-riot police and plainclothes Basij militia lined the streets and on several occasions fired directly into the crowd and beat protesters with steel batons. In one neighborhood, the Basij took over a commercial building and dropped tear gas canisters from the roof onto the protesters, witnesses said.

Basij militia dressed in black shot and killed two young men in Tehran’s Vanak and Vali Asr squares, according to witness accounts posted on opposition websites. The victims haven’t been identified. Dozens have been injured and arrested, according to witnesses.

“This was the most violent protest we’ve had by far, and people were also really angry and fearless,” said one witness from Tehran, adding that the public seemed resolved to stay on the street.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)