When university students in the district of Kalar in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan protested on Monday, against the government’s failure to pay scholarship money and provide services, the police responded with tear gas and batons.
In protest, groups of students from the University of Sulaymaniyah blocked the gates to prevent the teachers from entering, while others blocked the road to the city centre.
A female student who took part in the demonstration talked to Medya News, indicating that a number of protesters had been arrested by city police.
“As we were at the gate of the university, about to head for the city governor’s office, we were attacked by the city police,” she said.
“They used tear gas and electric batons. Many students have been injured and detained. We wanted to hold a peaceful demonstration to demand our rights. They’ve not been paying us our scholarship money for years. We have other problems at the university as well. There’s not even any drinking water. The water is so contaminated that we can’t even use it to take a shower. We had a meeting with the university administration and demanded the release of our friends. We won’t stop protesting until our friends are released.”