Students protest in Sulaimani on Nov 23, 2023. (NRT Digital Media)
PM:04:14:23/11/2021
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ULAIMANI — The sound
of gunfire could be heard in footage from student protests held in Sulaimani on
Tuesday (November 23) that was shared on social media.
Security forces opened
fire to disperse the crowds in the third day of demonstrations in which students
from universities and institutes across the Kurdistan Region protested in
demand of their stipends.
Students braved tear
gas as they marched from Sulaimani University down Salim Street to the center
of the city.
Peshraw Hamajan,
assistant president of Sulaimani University, told NRT starting tomorrow
students and employees will be on a two-day break at the university.
He also said the
dormitories will be closed.
Some officials in the
Kurdistan Region have spoke out in support of the students.
Kurdistan Islamic
Union (KIU) Secretary General Salahadin Bahadin expressed concern on Twitter
that the protests would have an effect on education and said the authorities
should respond to the students.
A number of MPs from
different factions in the Kurdistan Parliament have sent a memorandum to the
parliament’s leadership calling for a special session to discuss student
stipends.
The Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) suspended the payments of student stipends, that help cover
the cost of transportation and living expenses, in response to the financial
crisis that began in 2014.
(NRT Digital Media)