Kirkuk residents block road to protest power outages, generator shutdown

KIRKUK, Iraq — Residents of Kirkuk’s Shahida Second neighborhood closed a main road on Sunday to protest worsening national electricity outages and the shutdown of a private generator, according to a resident and local media reports. Resident Ammar Mohammed said the area has experienced power cuts for several days and that the private generator has stopped operating, leaving households struggling amid high temperatures. He said numerous complaints had been filed with authorities without resolution. Protester Kasim Kamil said residents are demanding an increase in national electricity supply and the immediate resumption of service by private generator operators. He warned that the ongoing crisis is directly affecting the daily lives of residents and shop owners. Demonstrators gathered under the midday sun and warned that protests would be expanded if authorities did not respond to their demands. No official statement was immediately available.