LOC23:16
20:16 GMT
ARBIL, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- Gunmen have attacked the premises of the Movement
for Change, also known as Change List, in downtown Arbil, north Iraq, on
Saturday.
The local security forces rushed to the site of the attack which is close
to Dam Dam hotel but the attackers managed to flee, head of Arbil police Brig.
Abdulkhaleq Talaat told reporters.
"The attackers are known by the security forces and wanted in connection
with previous crimes," he said, noting that a local court has issued arrest
warranted for them.
The attack took place just eight days ahead of the coming legislative
elections, due on March 7.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Qader, head of the Change List's premises, said the
gunmen removed the posters of the movement's candidates for the coming
elections and beat the guard of the premises.
In statements to KUNA, Sheikh Qader blamed the attack on the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani.
The supporters of the Change List clashed with their peers from the PUK in
Sulaimaniyah, northeast of Iraq, a few days ago. The clash led to several
casualties on both sides before the security forces stepped in to disengage
them.
Following the unrest, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI)
decreed a ban on night campaigning for the elections in the city as from
Friday.
The Movement for Change is Kurdish political movement led by Nawshirwan
Mustafa, which braces for its second electoral contest in March.
It was founded in 2006 as the de facto umbrella movement made up of ten
opposition parties including the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
whose leader Masoud Barzani is the chairman of the semi-autonomous region of
Kurdistan. (end)
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KUNA 272316 Feb 10NNNN