Two killed in Erbil province over social dispute: Police
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil police said on Wednesday that a social dispute in Khabat district escalated into gunfire, leaving two people dead, adding that two suspects have been detained in connection with the incident.
“Following a social dispute, an individual opened fire, resulting in the killing of two individuals this evening in Rizgari subdistrict,” Erbil police said in a late Wednesday statement, noting that the two suspects have “confessed to the crime.”
The incident occurred after worshippers had performed Taraweeh prayers - special voluntary prayers performed every night during Ramadan - at a mosque in Rizgari, also known as Topzawa, affiliated with Khabat district.
One of the victims was identified as Zuhair Mustafa, a Peshmerga fighter. Eyewitnesses and family members said he was not involved in the dispute and had attempted to mediate between two brothers who were fighting.
Islam Tamo, Mustafa’s uncle, told Rudaw that “those individuals had come out of [mosque after] Taraweeh prayers and had a dispute with someone, intending to beat him. My nephew Zuhair stepped in to mediate between them, but gunfire broke out; one of the armed men and my nephew Zuhair were killed.”
Violence stemming from personal and social disputes remains a recurring issue in parts of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, often exacerbated by the widespread availability of firearms. Authorities in the Kurdistan Region have repeatedly pledged to clamp down on unlicensed weapons and tribal-style retaliatory violence.
In recent years, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has launched several campaigns to limit the public display and misuse of weapons, particularly following deadly disputes linked to family feuds, land disagreements, and personal conflicts.
“Following a social dispute, an individual opened fire, resulting in the killing of two individuals this evening in Rizgari subdistrict,” Erbil police said in a late Wednesday statement, noting that the two suspects have “confessed to the crime.”
The incident occurred after worshippers had performed Taraweeh prayers - special voluntary prayers performed every night during Ramadan - at a mosque in Rizgari, also known as Topzawa, affiliated with Khabat district.
One of the victims was identified as Zuhair Mustafa, a Peshmerga fighter. Eyewitnesses and family members said he was not involved in the dispute and had attempted to mediate between two brothers who were fighting.
Islam Tamo, Mustafa’s uncle, told Rudaw that “those individuals had come out of [mosque after] Taraweeh prayers and had a dispute with someone, intending to beat him. My nephew Zuhair stepped in to mediate between them, but gunfire broke out; one of the armed men and my nephew Zuhair were killed.”
Violence stemming from personal and social disputes remains a recurring issue in parts of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, often exacerbated by the widespread availability of firearms. Authorities in the Kurdistan Region have repeatedly pledged to clamp down on unlicensed weapons and tribal-style retaliatory violence.
In recent years, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has launched several campaigns to limit the public display and misuse of weapons, particularly following deadly disputes linked to family feuds, land disagreements, and personal conflicts.