Five people were killed and dozens wounded in Iraqi Kurdistan on Tuesday as security forces opened fire during clashes with protesters amid growing anger over a failed push for independence.

Demonstrators in the autonomous Kurdish area in the north of the country torched the offices of a mayor and political parties as protests broke out for a second day over the disastrous fallout from a September referendum.

The vote delivered a resounding "yes" for independence, but drew sweeping reprisals from Baghdad which dealt a heavy blow to Kurdistan's already flagging economy.

Demonstrators set fire to the offices of two political parties in Raparin in Sulaimaniyah province, said a spokesman for the local health department, Taha Mohammad.

"Clashes erupted with the security forces who opened fire, leaving five dead and at least 70 wounded," he said.

Earlier, medical sources said some 100 people were injured as protests hit second city Sulaimaniyah and a string of other towns.

In Sulaimaniyah, security forces fired in the air to disperse demonstrators and mounted roadblocks on major roads and around the offices of the main political parties.

The city is a bastion of opposition to former regional president Massud Barzani who organised the independence vote, but all five of the region's main political parties saw their offices attacked on Monday.

- 'You're incapable' -

Late Tuesday, security forces arrested the founder of a protest movement at the city airport over accusations he incited demonstrations, a television channel and a leader of his movement said.

Shaswar Abdul Wahid and his wife were detained at the airport as they returned from London, according to a leader of his protest movement New Generation, which he founded on October 1.

Security forces also ended broadcasts as they stormed the offices of NRT, a Kurdish television channel that Abdul Wahid founded in 2011 and sold two months ago, its director said.

Protests were also held in the Sulaimaniyah province towns of Rania and Kifri, and in Halabja and Koysinjaq in neighbouring Arbil province.

In Koysinjaq, demonstrators set fire to the mayor's office, while in Kifri hundreds stormed the offices of Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party after pelting the building with stones, witnesses said.

"You're incapable -- incapable of defending the disputed areas and incapable of ruling the Kurdistan region," one demonstrator shouted.

The disputed areas are a large swathe of historically Kurdish-majority territory outside the autonomous region that Kurdish leaders have long wanted to incorporate in it.

The Kurds took control of many of these areas during the fightback against the Islamic State group from 2014.

But after the independence referendum, federal forces retook nearly all of them, including the large city of Kirkuk and its nearby oilfields, which accounted for a major part of the autonomous government's revenues.

After his gamble on the referendum backfired spectacularly, Barzani announced he was stepping down in late October.

Legislative and presidential elections in the region due on November 1 were postponed because of the turmoil.

Prime minister Nechirvan Barzani, the ex-president's nephew, has pledged to hold the polls over the next three months.

- Salaries slashed -

Issam al-Fayli, professor of political science at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University, said the explosion of anger was directed against the political status quo that has dominated Iraqi Kurdistan for years.

"This is the first time that there are demonstrations against all Kurdish figures across the board, and I believe that we are headed for a radical change as there is currently no politician capable of leading," he said.

Residents in the regional capital Arbil said salaries have been slashed since September and the price of kerosene for heating has reached new highs.

There are only four hours of electricity a day, and many people are unable to cover the costs of operating generators, they said.

The federal government appears to be giving short shrift to the worsening economic crunch facing the Kurds, with Baghdad looking to cut the share of the national budget allocated to the region from 17 percent to 12.6 percent.

"What is happening in Kurdistan is due to the poor policies of the autonomous government and the political parties," said government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi.

He insisted the root cause of the economic problems was the Kurdish authorities exporting oil without Baghdad's consent and "with no transparency or oversight".

But analyst Fayli warned that the federal government needs to step in to help fix the crisis or risk watching the discontent spiral out of control.

"If the autonomous government collapses, then that will create a political void that will hit stability in the country," he said.

A timeline of the crisis between Iraq and its Kurds
Sulaimaniyah, Iraq (AFP) Dec 19, 2017 - Iraqi Kurdistan, mired in deadly protests, has been in open crisis with the Baghdad government since voters in the northern autonomous region overwhelmingly backed independence in a September referendum.

Here are the key developments:

- Millions vote -

Despite weeks of threats and warnings, the non-binding plebiscite goes ahead on September 25 with more than 12,000 polling stations opening for 5.3 million registered voters.

It is held in the three provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan -- Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk -- as well as in disputed border areas such as the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Baghdad says the vote is "illegal" and the United States warns it will increase instability.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on September 26 gives authorities in Kurdistan 72 hours to hand the central government control of airports, warning he will otherwise ban international flights to and from the region.

- A massive 'yes' -

The official results released on September 27 show more than 92 percent of voters back statehood. Turnout is over 72 percent.

Then Kurdish leader Massud Barzani, who initiated the referendum, says there will be no immediate declaration of independence, but calls for negotiations.

Abadi demands that the vote be annulled. "We will never hold talks based on the results of the referendum," he says. "We will impose Iraqi law in the entire region of Kurdistan."

- Flights cut -

Baghdad cuts the Kurdish region's direct air links with the outside world indefinitely on September 29.

The United States says it does not recognise the referendum and its result which "lacks legitimacy".

On September 30 Iran embargoes trade in fuel products with Iraqi Kurdistan.

- Soldiers deployed -

Kurdish peshmerga forces on October 12 block roads from Iraqi Kurdistan to Iraq's second city Mosul in response to an increase in deployments and movements of Iraqi forces near the front line.

Abadi denies an attack is imminent, vowing to "preserve the unity of our country".

But on October 13, the Iraqi army launches an operation to take Kurdish-held positions around the provincial capital of Kirkuk, which has a Kurdish majority and took part in the contested referendum.

On October 15 the Kurds ignore a looming deadline set by Baghdad for their forces to surrender positions they took during the fightback against jihadists.

The following day, Iraqi forces take control of the city of Kirkuk as well as key military sites and an oilfield.

The capture of more key oilfields in the disputed province on October 17 dashes Kurdish hopes of creating a viable independent state. Abadi says the referendum is "a thing of the past".

On October 20 Iraqi forces retake control of the last sector of Kirkuk province.

- Conciliatory signals -

On October 25 Iraqi Kurdish leaders offer to freeze the outcome of the independence vote, but Abadi says he will accept only its reversal.

Barzani tells parliament on October 29 in a letter he is stepping down as president of the autonomous Kurdish region from November 1.

Iraq's supreme court declares the referendum unconstitutional on November 20.

- Protests turn deadly -

On December 18 Kurdish demonstrators attack the headquarters of all five of the region's main political parties, as well as a building of the security services in the province of Sulaimaniyah to protest against corruption and call for the regional government to resign.

On December 19 new protests take place in Iraqi Kurdistan, where demonstrators torch party headquarters.

Five people are killed and nearly 200 injured, according to medical sources, as security forces open fire during clashes.

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