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Protester Killed in Iraq's Kurdistan Region after Days of Unrest

A protester was shot dead during demonstrations against Kurdish political parties. (Reuters)
A protester was shot dead during demonstrations against Kurdish political parties. (Reuters)
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Protester Killed in Iraq's Kurdistan Region after Days of Unrest

A protester was shot dead during demonstrations against Kurdish political parties. (Reuters)
A protester was shot dead during demonstrations against Kurdish political parties. (Reuters)

A protester was shot dead during demonstrations against Kurdish political parties in the northern, Kurdish-run region of Iraq on Monday after several days of unrest, local medical officials and a lawmaker said.

It was a rare deadly incident involving protests against the political parties that run the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, over delayed payment of public sector salaries.

The officials, including medics at a local hospital, said the protester had been shot by armed men guarding the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the town of Chamchamal, west of the city of Sulaimaniya.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets in and around Sulaimaniya for several days demanding their salaries and criticizing the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which controls the Sulaimaniya area.

The KDP-dominated Kurdish regional government, based in Erbil, has been hit by a nationwide economic crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen Iraq’s oil revenues slashed.

Iraq depends on oil exports for virtually all its state revenue, including some 250,000 barrels per day from Kurdish areas.

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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.