ERBIL - Graduates of the Kirkuk School of Engineering gathered outside the Iraqi parliament's office in the disputed Kurdish city for the second day in a row, entering the building.

Confirming to BasNews, Jamal Shikur, a Kurdish lawmaker at the Iraqi parliament, pointed out that the graduates had been demanding to be employed but that the Iraqi government is incapable of doing so currently due to the challenging financial situation in the country.

He further explained that part of the graduates had been hired by an oil company but now they are demanding to be permanently employed by the public sector.

"Yet we have tried to consider their application” he added.

According to Iraqi reports, the demonstrators raided the parliament's office and closed it down on Tuesday.

MP Shikur argued that such "violence" would not help the graduates, adding that he talked to them on Monday and urged them not to rush, explaining to them that "we do not have employment, but we are doing our best. We will not hesitate in this regard."

This comes while Iraq is suffering from major economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic and low prices of oil, as approximately %95 of revenues in the country comes from the oil sector.

BasNews