One killed as Iraqi Kurds protest power cuts

Al Arabiya

14-07-2025

A man was killed in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region late Sunday during protests against power cuts, residents and a medical source told AFP.
Residents in the Rawandz region, northeast of Kurdistan's capital Arbil, said protesters had taken to the streets and blocked a main highway leading to a border crossing with Iran.
Security forces intervened to open the road, leading to clashes, they said, with the demonstrations ending shortly after.
A source at the area's Ashti hospital said 'the body of a man who was killed by gunshot arrived at the hospital', with locals saying he was involved in the protests.
The circumstances around the shooting were not immediately known, but a protester told AFP that 'security forces shot' his relative, a 45-year-old father of 10.
The region's interior ministry also said on Monday that 'clashes during the protest' had resulted in one civilian death, adding it would launch a probe into the incident.
The northern region of Kurdistan has long promoted itself as a haven of relative stability in an otherwise volatile Iraq.
Last week, regional authorities announced that more than 30 percent of the Kurdistan region now had 24-hour, state-provided electricity.
However, vast areas still suffer from long power cuts, forcing many households to rely on private generators.
Despite Iraq's abundant oil and gas reserves, years of conflict have devastated its infrastructure.
The national grid struggles to meet demand, leaving most areas reliant on imported energy -- mostly from neighboring Iran -- and subject to frequent power cuts, especially during the blistering summer.