KURDISH Peshmerga forces threatened to turn against the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in northern Iraq today as anti-government protests continued across the autonomous region in an uprising against corruption. The warning was issued by Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) affiliated Peshmerga in the town of Chamchamal in Slemani province, who said they would refuse orders to open fire on protesters in what could be a turning point in the widening protests. At least two people have been shot dead in…

Morning mass in Karemlash, an Iraqi village once held by Islamic State jihadists, is usually a sombre affair. But this week, elderly parishioners could rejoice: Pope Francis is coming to Iraq next year. "We're all so happy. We have been waiting for this for so long," said 45-year-old Adiba Henna, smiling in the cold air after a prayer service at St. Adday Chaldean Church, in the Nineveh highlands of northern Iraq. "Every time he visits a country, we think, why…

Iraqi authorities are trying to contain public anger in the north-easterly Kurdistan region as the death toll after a week of violent demonstrations over unpaid salaries and corruption rose to eight. The civil unrest in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is being stoked by the coronavirus-related plunge in the oil price, which has hampered the war-battered country’s ability to foot a vast government wage bill. The oil price crash has more than halved oil revenues which support 90…

BAGHDAD: The prime minister of Iraq’s northern Kurdish-run region on Wednesday blamed the federal government in Baghdad for delaying crucial budget transfers as violent protests over salary payments left eight dead in the past week. Also on Wednesday, two explosions targeted an oil field in northern Kirkuk province in what the Oil Ministry called a terrorist attack. No casualties were immediately reported in the blasts. The area is disputed between Baghdad and the Kurdish region, and Daesh militants routinely exploit…

Six protesters were killed after local security forces opened fire to disperse crowds in various parts of Sulaymaniyah province. A security officer also died of his injuries after clashing with protestors. At least 12 other people were wounded. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in the city of Sulaymaniyah and nearby towns, saying they have not received their monthly pay checks since October. More than 1.25 million people are employed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In recent days, protesters have also…

Salih said a peaceful protest is a guaranteed constitutional right that must be respected Salih called on relevant authorities to meet the demands and work on solving the problem of salaries DUBAI: Iraqi President Barham Salih called on protestors in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province - angered over unpaid wages - and police to act peacefully, Al-Arabiya TV reported.“We have been monitoring for days, with great concern, the escalation of events in the city of Sulaymaniyah, including demonstrations accompanied by acts of violence, which…

Protesters hit the streets in several Iraqi cities on Friday, one week after clashes between supporters of a controversial Shiite cleric and anti-government demonstrators left nine people dead. On November 27, followers of militiaman-turned-cleric Moqtada Sadr turned out in a show of force in the Iraqi capital, southern hotspot of Nasiriyah and other cities. While the massive Baghdad protest ended peacefully, Sadrists in Nasiriyah clashed with the dwindling numbers of anti-government demonstrators who have been rallying there since October 2019.…

Suicides have increased in Iraq since the beginning of the year, as many young people suffer social and economic problems fuelled by the pandemic. During the first eight months of the year, 298 Iraqis, 168 males and 130 females, committed suicide in all parts of the country, according to the Human Rights Commission in Iraq. A member of it, Fadhel Al-Gharawi, explained that there were several reasons for people to attempt suicide, “including psychological, social and economic causes, lack of employment opportunities, lack…

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An air strike killed a commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards at the Iraq-Syria border sometime between Saturday and Sunday, Iraqi security and local militia officials said on Monday. They could not confirm the identity of the commander, who they said was killed alongside three other men travelling in a vehicle with him. The vehicle was carrying weapons across the Iraqi border and was hit after it had entered Syrian territory, two Iraqi security officials separately said.  Iran-backed…

NASIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters) -Supporters of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed an anti-government protest camp in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya on Friday, and at least three people were killed and dozens wounded in the clashes, a Reuters witness and a medical source said. Followers of Sadr carrying pictures of the cleric marched to the central al-Haboubi square, where anti-government protesters have held a sit-in since 2019, after Friday prayers. They fired gunshots and threw petrol bombs at the protesters’…