الرئيسية
By Reuters
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Rioters burned dozens of alcohol
shops and damaged several hotels in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan
region after Friday prayers, prompting an attack a pro-Islamic party
office, authorities and witnesses said Saturday.
Iraq's Kurdistan
in the north of the country has enjoyed more stability and security
since becoming largely autonomous in 1991, and has been governed by two
ruling parties who have shared power since Saddam Hussein was ousted in
2003.
After Friday prayers, during which one religious leader
criticized the sale of alcohol, protesters burned more than 30 liquor
shops and bars and damaged three hotels in Zakho, 440 km (275 miles)
north of Bagdad, officials and witnesses said.
"Dozens of people came out after Friday prayers and burned alcohol stores," one eyewitness said.
Fahad
Mulla Saleh, a member of the Kurdish Islamic Union, said the party's
headquarters had been attacked after the riots. But his party denied any
responsibility for the attacks on stores in Zakho.
Kurdistan
Regional Government President Masoud Barzani in a statement condemned
the attacks, which he said appeared to have been triggered by religious
leaders.
Kurdistan has enjoyed investment and growth even as the
rest of Iraq still struggles with power shortages and the stubborn
violence from Sunni Islamist insurgents and Shi'ite militias more than
eight years after the U.S. invasion.
But many Kurdistan residents
say they have seen little of the region's new wealth, complaining the
two ruling parties have concentrated power in their hands. Two months of
protests earlier this year demanded the two parties loosen their grip.
(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Sophie Hares)
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Rioters burned dozens of alcohol
shops and damaged several hotels in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan
region after Friday prayers, prompting an attack a pro-Islamic party
office, authorities and witnesses said Saturday.
Iraq's Kurdistan
in the north of the country has enjoyed more stability and security
since becoming largely autonomous in 1991, and has been governed by two
ruling parties who have shared power since Saddam Hussein was ousted in
2003.
After Friday prayers, during which one religious leader
criticized the sale of alcohol, protesters burned more than 30 liquor
shops and bars and damaged three hotels in Zakho, 440 km (275 miles)
north of Bagdad, officials and witnesses said.
"Dozens of people came out after Friday prayers and burned alcohol stores," one eyewitness said.
Fahad
Mulla Saleh, a member of the Kurdish Islamic Union, said the party's
headquarters had been attacked after the riots. But his party denied any
responsibility for the attacks on stores in Zakho.
Kurdistan
Regional Government President Masoud Barzani in a statement condemned
the attacks, which he said appeared to have been triggered by religious
leaders.
Kurdistan has enjoyed investment and growth even as the
rest of Iraq still struggles with power shortages and the stubborn
violence from Sunni Islamist insurgents and Shi'ite militias more than
eight years after the U.S. invasion.
But many Kurdistan residents
say they have seen little of the region's new wealth, complaining the
two ruling parties have concentrated power in their hands. Two months of
protests earlier this year demanded the two parties loosen their grip.
(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Sophie Hares)
