Politics

PHOTOS: Quiet moments while enforcing Kurdistan's curfew in Erbil

Exhausted from days of tireless work, members of the Kurdistan Region’s security forces are taking brief breaks from their duties of ensuring the implementation of the region-wide curfew.

Mustafa Shilani 2020/04/05 18:49

kurdistan Kurdistan Erbil Coronavirus Curfew Asayish KRG

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Exhausted from days on end of tireless work, members of the Kurdistan Region’s security forces take turns grabbing a few moments of respite from their posts enforcing the implementation of a curfew in place since mid-March to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak.

It should be noted that this photo essay does not claim to show security forces sleeping when they should be working. Since the curfew requires an "all hands on deck" approach to be effective, personnel from the police, security (Asayish), and civil defense teams need to stand guard around the clock, making such breaks necessary.

Security forces in Erbil take turns resting while enforcing the regionwide curfew. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

As the number of cases has increased across the Kurdistan Region, the government has added to a growing list of precautionary measures aimed at stemming the further spread of the highly-contagious disease.

In early March, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ordered the closure of all restaurants, coffee shops, and other entertainment or sports venues, as well as all religious services.

On March 13, the government also instituted a curfew that it has expanded and extended multiple times. For the most part, the public at large has cooperated, but security forces have needed to enforce the new rules.

On Wednesday, officials in Sulaimani province announced the arrest of almost two dozen suspects who were attempting to sneak people and goods into the Kurdistan Region from Iran, violating anti-coronavirus travel restrictions and avoiding strict quarantine measures. Days before, security officials announced they had arrested over 100 others for the same offence.

During the previous week in Erbil, forces seized five vehicles carrying 52 individuals as their drivers were attempting to smuggle them into the city from the direction of the disputed city of Kirkuk, the most recent of several such incidents in the regional capital.

Officially referred to as COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus was first reported by Chinese authorities in late 2019. As it continues to spread worldwide, it has infected over one and a quarter million people and killed nearly 70,000, according to government-reported data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The actual figures could be dramatically higher due to insufficient testing capabilities or underreporting.

Editing by Kosar Nawzad and John J. Catherine