Government officials struggle to end demonstrations sparked by death in police custody of Kurdish woman

• Two decades of Iranian women’s street protests – in pictures

Gunshots and explosions were heard in the Iranian Kurdish city of Sanandaj on Monday as the protests over the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini continued to unfold across the country and for first time spread to Iran’s crucial oil industry.

Government officials are struggling to end the protests led by young Iranians, especially women, previously regarded as uninterested by politics.

This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.