Teaching in al-Sulaymaniyah Universities to be halted amid clashes between students and security forces

Shafaq News/ Kurdistan's Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research said it will halt the official hours in the al-Sulaymaniyah's universities and colleges for a week, starting from tomorrow, Wednesday, amid violent clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators demanding the reinstatement of abolished allowances granted to students.

Law enforcement in al-Sulaymaniyah successfully restored traffic movement in many parts of the city after deploying force to disperse the students demanding the disbursement of the government financial grants.

For the third day in a row, university students in al-Sulaymaniyah continue to demonstrate against Kurdistan's Ministry of Higher Education's decision to cut the financial grants offered to them.

Shafaq News Agency correspondent said that the security forces used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, causing multiple cases of suffocation, after the latter did not abide with their requests to open the roads and keep the demonstrations near the University headquarters.

"The demonstrators insisted on blocking the road between the governorate administration and the city downtown and demonstrating near the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) headquarters," our correspondent said.

Scores were injured in the clashes between the law enforcement and university students demanding improved grants in al-Sulaymaniyah yesterday, Monday.

University students in al-Sulaymaniyah, Garmyan, Rania, and Raperin organized demonstrations to demand disbursing and improving the grants offered by the government.

The demonstrations grew into clashes with the security forces near al-Sulaymaniyah University, injuring 18 students.

A spokesperson for the demonstrators revealed to our agency yesterday that a female student had been injured when the security forces deployed tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

Lecturers in al-Sulaymaniyah University lambasted the use of excessive force against the demonstrators, deeming the violence "a violation of their Human Rights."

Kurdistan's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Aram Mohammad Qadir, said that the students' demands are "plausible and justified". Qadir said that he has been working on this issue since his first day in the office.