Peregraf
In Sulaymaniyah, owners of unlicensed vehicles staged a protest against the ongoing crackdown and confiscation of their cars. Demonstrators blocked a main street in the city, leading to clashes with security forces. Tear gas was deployed to disperse the crowd.
A representative of the protesters outlined their demands: 1.Authorities must stop confiscating unlicensed vehicles and allow their operation.
2.Security checkpoints in Sulaymaniyah should permit these vehicles to pass.
The protesters engaged with Sulaymaniyah Governor Haval Abubakr, who acknowledged their grievances but stated that the power to halt vehicle confiscations lies beyond his authority.
The protest followed a December 2, 2024, decision by the High Security Committee of Sulaymaniyah, banning unlicensed vehicles from entering the city. Since then, joint security forces have confiscated numerous vehicles within Sulaymaniyah city limits, while enforcement in surrounding districts remains lax, allowing the vehicles to be relocated outside the city.
According to the Council of Unlicensed Vehicle Owners, there are around 70,000 unlicensed vehicles in Sulaymaniyah, Halabja, Garmian, and Raperin. These vehicles are reportedly imported as scrap, repaired in southern Iraq, and smuggled into the Kurdistan Region.
Protesters argue that authorities facilitated the import and sale of these vehicles, which were priced between $5,000 and $15,000, and are now penalizing citizens for using them.
It’s worth noting that similar bans on unlicensed vehicles are already enforced in Erbil and Duhok, where such vehicles are prohibited from entering the governorates.