PUK forces surround Gorran’s Sulaimani headquarters: reports

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) forces surrounded the Sulaimani headquarters of the Change (Gorran) Movement on Saturday night, according to Gorran’s official media. 

Gorran claimed its headquarters came under heavy weapons attack. 

“A force has attacked the [Zaragata] hill [Gorran’s headquarters] after a command from Lahur Talabani,” who is the PUK’s counterterrorism force chief, reported KNN. 

In a phone interview with Kurdsat TV, a PUK-linked media outlet, Talabani claimed there has been no attack on the headquarters of Gorran and that reported gunshots were actually fireworks.

Gorran called on its supporters to defend the headquarters. A crowd of Gorran supporters has assembled nearby. Although the situation is tense, it has remained relatively stable. 

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has said “violence in Sulaimani must be stopped and attacks on any party headquarters must be ended immediately,” according to a tweet from Hemin Hawrami, senior assistant to Masoud Barzani.

According to PUK media, the party has won in 40 polling stations in Sulaimani city in Iraq's parliamentary election. Gorran claims the electronic voting system has been hacked, and has demanded a manual recount. 

The Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ) and Gorran said in a joint statement they “will not be silent on the stealing and exchanging of votes,” according to Xendan TV, the official media of the CDJ.  

Gorran, Komal, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the CDJ and the Kurdistan Communist Party held a meeting in Sulaimani to discuss their response.

This is a developing story...