A Kurdish rights group says during the first 15 days of 2023, at least 96 Kurdish citizens have been arrested by Islamic Republic government forces.

Hengaw Human Rights Organization announced in a tweet Monday that 13 children, five university students, four teachers, and five women are among the detainees.

Iranian security forces used excessive and lethal force against protesters in Kurdish regions since the beginning of nationwide protests following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in mid-September.

There are no exact figures on the number of people arrested during the protests across the country, but some sources say nearly 20,000 people have been detained.

Security forces have killed around 500 civilians during the protests, many from Kurdish and Sunni regions in the southeast.

The Islamic Republic’s attacks on Kurds are not limited to the crackdown on protesters as the IRGC has also stepped-up shelling of Iranian Kurdish parties in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Back in November, the IRGC launched missile attacks against the positions of the dissident Iranian Kurdish group, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan in Erbil. At least three missiles hit the party's positions including a hospital, causing casualties.

The Islamic Republic calls the Kurdish armed groups in the western provinces of Iran, "terrorist groups" or "anti-revolutionary" but these groups say that the goal of their armed campaign is "defending the rights of the Kurds".