[NRTtv] SULAIMANI — Administrator of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Fourth Branch Kamaran Gharib said on Saturday (January 30) that unidentified gunmen opened fire on the party’s office in Sulaimani’s Azadi neighborhood.Gharib told NRT that the three gunmen drove up in a Land Cruiser SUV and shot at the office’s entrance using a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle and other firearms at 06:13 a.m., adding that no one was hurt but there had been some damage to the building.
“Such incidents have turned from an instance into a phenomenon, which shows instability and the failed policy of the city’s authorities,” he said, criticizing the local security forces, which are affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
He cast doubt on whether there would be any significant punishment for the perpetrators, suggesting that they would be protected.
“The relevant parties have started investigations, but they will have no results,” he said.
The security forces have not commented on the incident.
While not frequent, gunmen are known to take potshots at local offices of political parties in the Kurdistan Region, especially in times of inter-party tension. The KDP and PUK are currently struggling to develop a unified approach to resolving disagreements with Baghdad over the federal budget.
The KDP’s Fourth Branch in downtown Sulaimani was attacked in similar drive-bys in June 2020 and September 2019. Following the latter attack, a PUK office was shot up in Erbil, an area controlled by the KDP.
In July 2018, unidentified gunmen shot at the offices of the New Generation Movement in Sulaimani.