Iraq’s president urges end to violence in protest-hit Sulaimaniyah

Iraqi President Barham Salih has called for an end to the violence in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, where protests over unpaid salaries have turned deadly. 

According to Reuters, a protester was fatally shot on Monday by guards outside the Kurdistan Democratic Party headquarters in the town of Chamchamal in northern Sulimaniyah province. Local Kurdish news outlet Rudaw put the death toll at four people, with many more injured in clashes with security forces. 

“Violence is not a solution to confront the legitimate demands of citizens and the will and the demands of the peaceful demonstrators must be respected,” Salih said in a statement, adding that Iraqis have a constitutional right to peacefully protest.

"The relevant authorities must meet these demands and work on radical solutions to the problem of salaries," he added.