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Riots erupt in Iran after Ahmadinejad declares victory
Huge swaths of the Iranian capital erupted in fiery riots that stretched into the early hours today as hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in his quest for a second term amid allegations of widespread fraud and reports that his main challenger had been placed under house arrest.At the same moment the president was promising a "bright and glorious future" for Iran in a late-night televised address, supporters of reformist rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi were battling with police and militiamen in riot gear throughout Tehran in the most serious clashes in the capital since a student uprising 10 years ago. In the streets and squares where young Iranians had danced and waved green banners in support of Mousavi days ago, baton-wielding police chased and beat mobs of hundreds of demonstrators chanting, "Down with dictatorship!" and "Give me my vote back!" Searing smoke and the smell of burning trash bins and tear gas filled the night sky as protesters ripped up Iranian flags, which had become the symbol of the Ahmadinejad campaign. Posted by: Steve White 2009-06-14 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=271955 |