furious students in al-Sulaymaniyah block a main road to Baghdad 

Shafaq News/ Students at al-Sulaymaniyah University blocked a main road that links the governorate with the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, as demonstrations continue near the University headquarters downtown the city.

Shafaq News Agency correspondent said that the demonstrators blocked the Chemchemal main road that leads to Baghdad through Kirkuk.

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

For the second day in a row, university students in al-Sulaymaniyah, Garmyan, Rania, and Raperin organized demonstrations to demand disbursing and improving the scholarship grants offered by the government.

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

"The demonstrators were transferred to Sharr hospital in al-Sulaymaniyah," a source told Shafaq News Agency.

A spokesperson for the demonstrators revealed to our agency 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.