Iranians are using the #FreeIranianSoldiers hashtag to spread awareness about five Iranian border guards abducted [2] at the Iran-Pakistan border. The Baloch Sunni Muslim insurgent group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) claimed responsibility [2] and published [1] the above photo of the abducted soldiers through their Twitter account.
Jaish-al-Adl operate in Sistan-Baluchestan, one of Iran's largest and poorest provinces, which is home to 2 million Sunni-muslims [3]. The ethnic Baloch and Sunni-muslim insurgents in the area have been demanding more autonomy from the Shia-government in Tehran in recent years.
In October 2013, Jaish-ul-Adl, which is called a terrorist group by the Irani state [4], [4] ambushed and killed 14 Iranian border guards. In response, authorities in the Shia-dominant country executed 16 people from Sistan-Baluchestan allegedly associated with Jaish-ul-Adl. [5]
Mohammad Reza Aref, an Iranian reformist politician, tweeted [6]:
the Iranian soldiers are defending our borders for, our Justice, security and peace #FreeIranianSoldiers [7]
— MohammadRezaAref (@MohamadRezaAref) February 9, 2014 [8]
Iranian social media researcher and blogger Narima Gharib tweeted [9]:
Why a terrorist group have an account on #Twitter [10] ? ” @BalouchRightsAd [11] ” #FreeIranianSoldiers [7]
— Nariman Gharib (@ListenToUs) February 10, 2014 [12]
Canadian-Iranian Maryam Nayeb Yazdi tweeted [13]:
Iran citizens tweeting on #FreeIranianSoldiers [7] regard the soldiers as their brothers rather than regime forces. They're defending their own.
— Maryam Nayeb Yazdi (@maryamnayebyazd) February 10, 2014 [14]
Iran-based Twitter user Opium called [15] for unity:
Hey you, don't tell me there's no hope at all
Together we stand, divided we fall. #FreeIranianSoldiers [7]
— opium (@opiums) February 10, 2014 [16]
Since 2006, Baluchis, who make up 2 percent of Iran’s population [17], have accounted for about 20 percent of state executions, according to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation, a US-based group which tracks human rights abuses in Iran.
The Irani government believes Jaish-ul-Adl is hiding in Pakistan's Balochistan province, [4] which borders Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province. Pakistan is battling its own Baluchi insurgency [18]and has been criticized by Iran for failing to crack down on militant camps in its territory.