Death toll rises to eight in Kurdistan Region protests

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Protests in the Kurdistan Region resumed on Tuesday, with the number of dead as a result of clashes this week rising to at least eight.

Two protesters died and two others were injured in Said Sadiq during protests on Tuesday, according to Diyari Rafiq, the town’s mayor.

“More than 50 police were injured” while trying to protect government institutions, in particular the bank, he noted in an interview with Rudaw’s Shayan Tahseen on Tuesday evening.

One Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Peshmerga fighter has been killed in clashes with protestors in front of the party's office in Sulaimani province’s Penjwen district, according to Bassam Ali, head of the KDP's office in Halabja.

One 16-year-old protester was shot dead in Takiya on Tuesday, a medic told AFP.  Iraq's Human Rights Commission also confirmed the casualty. 

Demonstrations on Tuesday have centered in Sulaimani province’s Said Sadiq, Takiya, Dukan, as well as Halabja Governorate’s Khurmal and Garmiyan Administration’s Kifri. Many of those protesting are government employees and unemployed youth.

Mass protests by civil servants and their supporters erupted in the city of Sulaimani on Wednesday over months-long unpaid salaries. The demonstrations have ended in the city after the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons by police forces, who were deployed in large numbers to the area, but protests have spread to other parts of the province as of Saturday. 

Protesters set on fire Sharazur’s Education Directorate, the Traffic Police Station, as well as the mayor’s house, Ramazan Namiq, a member of Sulaimani’s provincial council told Rudaw on Tuesday.

Protesters in Chamchamal’s Takiya, a sub-district in the southwest of Sulaimani, torched the district’s directorate office, as well as the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the KDP.

UK ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hickey said in a tweet on Tuesday that he is "deeply concerned by reports of violence and casualties in Sulaimani, including the use of live fire." The diplomat called on security forces to "respect the right to peaceful protest and to exercise restraint."

At least four people died and multiple others injured from clashes between protesters and security forces in Sulaimani on Monday night. Locals reported at the deaths in Darbandikhan, Kalar, Chamchamal, and Kifri on Monday, allegedly shot by security forces and guards.  

Protesters in Saidsadiq set alight the offices of all five major Kurdish political parties on Sunday. Live videos from protesters showed the offices of KDP, PUK, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) and Gorran (Change Movement) set on fire, as well as the town mayor’s office and home. 

The Said Sadiq party offices were attacked, “my home was attacked in a very uncivilized manner,” Tofiq added, saying around 1500 protestors raided his house, took his belongings, and set it on fire.

Iraqi President Barham Salih has called upon the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials to avoid violence in protests across Sulaimani province.

“Violence is not a solution in facing people’s legitimate requests,” he wrote in a Tuesday statement. 

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani warned protestors on Monday against “destructive efforts” and violence in a statement.

A high crisis cell in Sulaimani has ordered a 24-hour traffic ban between Sulaimani and Halabja provinces, as well as Raparin and Garmiyan administrations, starting from midnight, according to official PUK media.

Kurdistan Region civil servants have gone unpaid for much of this year amid budget disputes between the KRG in Erbil and the federal government in Baghdad.

The government-funded, but operationally independent, Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) said on Tuesday it is following “the arbitrary governmental and security measures” at protests with “great concern.”

“The Commission calls on the security authorities in the Sulaimani governorate to respect human rights and not restrict the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression,” it added in a statement. 

"The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) condemns the acts of violence which accompanied public protests in Sulaimani Governorate over recent days, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries and the destruction of property," said UNAMI in a statement on Tuesday, urging Kurdistan Region authorities to protect the freedom of speech and assembly.

Updated at 8:40 pm with Peshmerga casualty, 10:07 pm with traffic ban, UNAMI statement