A tense calm hung over Ajabshir in northwest Iran Wednesday, after four days of violent clashes between police and demonstrators sparked by the official classification of the place as a village, the student agency ISNA reported.
Witnesses contacted by AFP said the clashes had left several dead.
(The Iranian armed opposition group, the People's Mujahadeen said in statements faxed to AFP in Nicosia that at least four people had been killed, and at least 250 injured.)
It added that some 500 had been arrested during the uprising.)
Among the victims was a schoolboy shot dead Monday in unclear circumstances.
He was named by the Mujahadeen as Sajjad Zahiri,
The provincial security council met Wednesday to "look at measures needed to restore calm," ISNA reported.
The demonstrations broke out Saturday after postal authorities announced that Ajabshir, which has a population of more 60,000, would have a village telephone coding, a move which infuriated the inhabitants as it cuts eligibility for state funding.
According to those telephoned, the move "can lead to others," limiting funds to the town and thereby freezing its social development plans.
During the clashes, a police car was torched and several public buildings damaged – TEHRAN (AFP)
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