The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Iran this Friday to address “alarming violence” against protesters, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The protests, the largest since nationwide demonstrations in 2022, have resulted in at least 5,000 confirmed deaths, according to Iranian authorities. The unrest has sparked international concern over the use of excessive force and widespread violations of human rights.

U.N. rights chief Volker Turk has condemned the crackdown, calling it a serious violation of international law.

In a letter seen by Reuters, Iceland’s ambassador Einar Gunnarsson, representing a group of countries including Germany and Britain, said a special session is necessary due to “credible reports of alarming violence, crackdowns on protesters, and violations of international human rights law across the country.”

The U.N. confirmed the session will take place Friday, with 21 countries backing the proposal so far.

Human Rights Watch has denounced mass unlawful killings and urged the U.N. to expand its 2022 investigation into Iranian protests with additional funding to ensure accountability.

Iran’s diplomatic mission has not immediately responded to requests by Reuters for comment. Diplomats say Iran has sent rebuttals to U.N. missions, claiming the clashes followed armed attacks on security forces.

Glenn Payot of Impact Iran, a coalition of 19 NGOs, told Reuters the session will send a “message to Iranian authorities that the bloodshed and the suppression of dissenting voices must stop, that they are under watch.”

“It is also an opportunity for the international community to show support for the rights of all Iranians to protest peacefully and express their voices without fear of reprisals,” Payot added.

The protests in Iran reflect long-standing grievances. Previous demonstrations in 2022 were met with violent crackdowns, leaving hundreds dead and thousands detained.

The U.N.’s emergency session underscores the growing international alarm over Iran’s handling of dissent and the broader implications for human rights in the region.

The death toll from a devastating fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall climbed to 27 on Tuesday as rescue teams continued search and clearance operations inside the severely damaged building, with more than 80 people still reported missing.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told local media that 27 bodies have so far been taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi. She said DNA samples from around 50 families of missing persons have been collected for profiling and cross-matching to help identify victims.

The blaze, described as Karachi’s largest fire in more than a decade, broke out late Saturday at Gul Plaza, a sprawling multi-storey commercial complex housing around 1,200 shops in the city’s historic centre. Firefighters battled the inferno for over 24 hours before bringing it under control.

According to Syed, the list of missing persons currently stands at 81, though some names were duplicated, with 74 individuals confirmed as missing. She said samples have been taken from 14 bodies so far, with the identification of seven victims completed. DNA samples from both the bodies and relatives have been sent to the Sindh Forensic DNA Laboratory, while further testing will be conducted at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi.

Separately, Karachi South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said rescue teams have cleared the ground and first floors of the building. He added that operations were ongoing on the upper levels, with teams attempting to access the second and third floors by cutting through metal grills.

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, speaking to a delegation of traders affected by the fire, proposed relocating them to a nearby parking plaza that he said was currently lying vacant. “We must learn from this tragedy,” the governor said, adding that the construction of unsafe commercial buildings in the city must be halted.

The incident also drew attention in parliament, where Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Shehla Raza acknowledged serious management failures at the site. She told the National Assembly that 24 of the mall’s 26 gates were closed at the time of the fire, complicating evacuation and rescue efforts. Raza also outlined the building’s history, noting that Gul Plaza was constructed in 1980 and later modified to add shops in parking areas and corridors.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) legislator Farooq Sattar called for the incident to be declared a national tragedy and urged the formation of an investigation committee. He also demanded the revival of the Department of Civil Defence and greater priority for Karachi in national policies.

Search and identification efforts remain ongoing as authorities continue to assess the full scale of the tragedy.

Firefighters in Karachi searched on Sunday for more than 65 missing people after a massive fire tore through a shopping mall in the historic downtown district, killing six and reducing parts of the building to rubble, Reuters reported.

Videos showed flames rising from the building as firefighters laboured through the night to stop the blaze, which started on Saturday night, from spreading in the dense business district. After fighting the flames for over 24 hours, firefighters began cooling the steaming rubble of the nearly collapsed structure.

Firefighters told Pakistan’s local television station Geo News that the lack of ventilation in the mall, which houses over 1,200 shops, caused the building to fill with smoke and slowed rescue efforts.

“It appears to have been caused by a circuit breaker,” Sindh police chief Javed Alam Odho told reporters at the site, according to Dawn News.

“The layout and construction of this market was such, and secondly, the nature of the items in it — such as carpets, blankets and other objects made of resins — so the fire is still simmering because of these.”

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab told reporters at the scene that 65 people were still missing.

Rescue officials said six people had been killed and 20 others were wounded, read the report.

According to media reports, people chanted slogans criticising the mayor who came to the site after 23 hours.

Hundreds of people had gathered around the building, including distraught store owners whose businesses had turned to ash.

“We’ve been left high and dry, reduced to zero; 20 years of hard work, all gone,” shopowner Yasmeen Bano said.

The fire erupted on Saturday night, with rescue services receiving a call at 10:38 p.m. (1738 GMT) reporting that ground-floor shops at the multi-storey Gul Plaza shopping centre were ablaze.

“When we arrived, the fire from the ground floor had spread to the upper floors, and almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames,” Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassanul Haseeb Khan told Reuters.

Images of the mall’s interior revealed the charred remains of stores and a bright orange glow as flames continued to rise throughout the building.

By Sunday evening, the blackened and broken metal frame of the building was strewn on the street alongside fallen air conditioners and some store signboards, Reuters reported.

Rescue workers said that parts of the building had started to collapse and that the whole structure could come down.