Residents in Sulaymaniyah's Raperin protest chronic water shortages

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — Hundreds of residents gathered outside the Raperin district administration building in Sulaymaniyah to protest a chronic drinking water shortage that resurfaces every summer, demanding a permanent solution to the crisis. Demonstrators said water reaches their neighborhoods only once every six days and often in insufficient quantities. Protest representative Mahmoud Mehdi stated that despite earlier official assurances that the issue had been resolved by fixing a pump malfunction, the disruptions continue, with residents unable to predict when or how much water will be delivered. Mehdi reported that more than 400 households have signed a petition calling for action, and that hundreds of families have been forced to buy water from tanker trucks at high prices. He added that delayed salary payments and difficult economic conditions have made the situation worse. Mehdi said rainfall and water resources in the area are sufficient, and called on the Kurdistan Regional Government and Sulaymaniyah's local administration to find a permanent fix to the water problem.