In Northern Iraq, hundreds of Iraqi Kurds protesting the regional government attacked a monument commemorating Saddam Hussein’s 1988 gas attack on the town of Halabja. The protests occurred on the 18th anniversary of the attack. The monument was stormed after police fired gunshots over the heads of demonstrators blocking a main road. Demonstrators said they were protesting the corruption of the semi-autonomous Kurdish authority. The government has been accused of misusing funds intended for Halabja survivors.