Iraqi farmers resume protests in four provinces over delayed payments

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Farmers in Iraq's Maysan, Najaf, Diwaniyah and Wasit provinces returned to the streets on Sunday to protest delayed government payments after a deadline expired. Demonstrators drove agricultural vehicles into main roads and city centers, with protests in Kut escalating into clashes with security forces. In one incident, a tribal sheikh participating in the protest lost his headdress during the confrontation. The farmers set up tents at protest sites for sit-ins and warned they would expand the demonstrations and move them to Baghdad if their demands were not met. Tensions rose as security forces intervened at multiple flashpoints where the sit-in camps had been established. The protest movement, which had been awaiting a government response on outstanding dues, resumed after the agreed period for action lapsed without resolution.