Protesters attack party offices in Iraq's Kurdistan region

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Protesters attacked several political party offices in part of Iraq's Kurdish north on Saturday in a third day of violent unrest that threatens to destabilise the region at a time of war with Islamic State militants. The demonstrators hurled stones at offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Sulaimaniyah province in the most serious civil disturbances the autonomous region has seen for several years. The demonstrations began on Oct. 1 in a show of growing public discontent in the region, which is suffering an acute economic crisis. Teachers and other public sector workers took to the streets and went on strike demanding payment of their salaries from the Kurdistan Regional Government, which is three months in arrears. But the protests changed course on Friday when stone-throwing protesters headed towards a KDP office in the town of Qaladize, resulting in a confrontation that left at least one person dead. On Saturday, young men blocked a main road in the town of Said Sadiq and pelted a KDP building with stones. Live footage broadcast on Kurdish channel NRT showed riot police holding back protesters, some of whom wielded slingshots. Shops were shuttered and a tyre burned in the street. There were also protests in the towns of Penjwin, Qaladize and Kalar, where a KDP office was pelted with stones. In the provincial capital of Sulaimaniyah, protesters attacked the office of Kurdish media network Rudaw, which is seen as close to the KDP. The pattern of unrest reflects long-running and deep political divisions in the region, in which there are two distinct zones of influence. Sulaimaniyah is ruled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and former opposition party Gorran, which are locked in power struggle with the KDP over the region's presidency. The KDP dominates in Erbil and Duhok provinces, where security was heightened around offices of the PUK and Gorran on Saturday to avert any retaliatory attacks. Deadlock over Massoud Barzani's presidency, which expired on Aug. 20, has polarized Kurdish politics and compounded an economic crisis that began in early 2014 when Baghdad slashed funds to the region. A drop in oil prices has pushed the region further towards bankruptcy. (Reporting by Isabel Coles; Editing by Helen Popper)