SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The security forces have detained the person who kicked a student in the head during protests of students in Sulaimani, authorities said on Wednesday.
Footage circulated on social media showed a man kicking a student in the head during protests in the city on Tuesday.
The directorate of Asayish (security) in Sulaimani said a group of people attacked a unit of the security forces during the protests on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, an employee reacted severely and hurt one of those people as the unit tried to defend themselves and detain them,” Asayish said in a statement.
“We reiterate that we continue to provide security for all people including protesters. At the same time, we express our concern over violence,” it added.
The Asayish further said the person who kicked the student in the head was detained after Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani ordered the security forces to detain him.
“We don’t allow any officers and employees of the directorate to harshly and unlawfully act to demonstrators,” it stated.
The directorate of Asayish also called on the students to take advantage of their demands for their political interests and to change the direction of protests to “chaos and to disrupt the security and stability of Sulaimani and civilians”.
Hundreds of students in the Kurdistan Region protested against the suspension of their monthly stipends on Tuesday.
In Sulaimani, the security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the students after a group of people among the protesters tried to set the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) office on fire.
Head of the PUK office Jabar Mohammed said a group of people who were not students attacked the party’s office in Sulaimani.
“Only one room was set on fire in the attack carried out by tear gas [canisters],” Mohammed told Esta Media Network.
A security source who spoke under condition of anonymity told Esta Media Network that the security forces had begun arresting “the disrupters who took advantage of students’ demands and changed the direction of peaceful protests to violence and disrupt the city’s tranquility”.
