ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Protesters in the Sulaimani province town of Said Sadiq set fire to the offices of five of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) largest political parties, as demonstrators were injured in clashes with police in the town, according to videos.
A number of protesters in Said Sadiq, located roughly 60 kilometers southeast of Sulaimani city, were injured, as clashes with security forces saw the use of gunfire, according to live video footage shared by protestors on social media. One protestor appears to have been seen to be shot in the leg.
Live videos from protestors also showed the offices of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Kurdistan Islamic Group (Komal) and Gorran (Change Movement) set on fire, as well as the town mayor’s office.
Protests have also broken out in the Sulaimani province’s towns of Chamchamal and Ranya, according to live footage shared on social media.
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 in the Sulaimani province town of Piramagrun attacked the headquarters of the KRG’s ruling parties on Sunday, setting the PUK’s alight, after security forces tried to prevent the movement of protesters.
One police officer was shot on Sunday during the protests of Piramagrun, northwest of Sulaimani city.
The KRG has failed to pay its civil servants on time or in full for months. Kurdish officials have openly said they cannot pay civil servants without money from the federal government.
