Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Iraq to close borders with Syria and Iran
Security
(Reuters) - Iraq announced plans on Tuesday to close its borders with Iran and Syria and lengthen a night curfew on vehicles in new emergency measures to try to curb unrelenting violence in Baghdad. The measures were unveiled during another day of bloodshed in the capital in which a suicide bomber blew up a truck rigged with explosives near a Baghdad college, killing 18 people just a day after bomb blasts ripped apart two crowded city markets.
They are the clearest sign yet from Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that an offensive against militants who are tearing Iraq apart is picking up pace. Speaking on Iraqiya state television, the official in charge of the crackdown, Lieutenant-General Abboud Qanbar, said the borders with Iran and Syria would be shut for 72 hours. He did not say when, but a government official said an announcement would be made when the frontiers had been closed.
Qanbar said other measures included confiscating illegal weapons and explosives, imposing restrictions on the movement of vehicles and individuals and setting up checkpoints in the city. In addition, "all patrols of the ministries of defense and interior would have to identify themselves, otherwise security forces will deal with them as outlaw forces," he said.
The new measures are on top of emergency powers already granted to Maliki by parliament. U.S. military officials say the Baghdad crackdown is in its early stages and that it will take months to peak. Previous attempts to halt bombings and death squad killings in the capital have failed. Indeed, critics say it is too little, too late, while weary Iraqis question whether the plan can end the threat of all-out civil war between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs. Qanbar gave no reason for the border moves, but American and Iraqi officials have accused Syria of not doing enough to stop alleged foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq.
They are the clearest sign yet from Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that an offensive against militants who are tearing Iraq apart is picking up pace. Speaking on Iraqiya state television, the official in charge of the crackdown, Lieutenant-General Abboud Qanbar, said the borders with Iran and Syria would be shut for 72 hours. He did not say when, but a government official said an announcement would be made when the frontiers had been closed.
Qanbar said other measures included confiscating illegal weapons and explosives, imposing restrictions on the movement of vehicles and individuals and setting up checkpoints in the city. In addition, "all patrols of the ministries of defense and interior would have to identify themselves, otherwise security forces will deal with them as outlaw forces," he said.
The new measures are on top of emergency powers already granted to Maliki by parliament. U.S. military officials say the Baghdad crackdown is in its early stages and that it will take months to peak. Previous attempts to halt bombings and death squad killings in the capital have failed. Indeed, critics say it is too little, too late, while weary Iraqis question whether the plan can end the threat of all-out civil war between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs. Qanbar gave no reason for the border moves, but American and Iraqi officials have accused Syria of not doing enough to stop alleged foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq.
Labels: borders, Iran, Iraq, Syria
