No less than 5,000 people have been killed in the mass protests that have rocked Iran since the end of last year, according to activists.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had verified 5,002 deaths so far, including 4,714 protesters, 207 state security forces, 42 minors, and 39 bystanders.

A further 9,787 deaths are still under investigation.

In addition, around 26,800 people had been arrested, according to the HRANA report.

The government said that 3,117 people were killed in what it called riots.

The protests broke out at the end of December.

Triggered by the country’s severe economic crisis, traders were the first to take to the streets.

On January 8 and 9, mass protests broke out in the major cities and were brutally suppressed.

State media reported that numerous arrests were made across the country in recent days.

The judiciary said previously that it would take harsh action against “troublemakers”.

The government blamed its arch-enemies, Israel and the United States, for the many deaths, claiming that they deliberately carried out numerous terrorist acts on January 8 and 9.

This is contradicted by videos that found their way out of the country despite an internet block imposed by the authorities.

The videos appear to show security forces firing on unarmed demonstrators.

Never before in the history of Iran, which was established in 1979, have so many demonstrators been killed during protests.

The protests appeared to have significantly reduced in the past week.

(dpa/NAN)