Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Demonstrations in Baghdad over U.S. building dividing wall
Security
(AFP) - Hundreds of Shiites and Sunnis marched on Wednesday in protest at the building by US troops of a tall concrete wall separating their northwest Baghdad neighbourhoods, an AFP photographer said. The protesters complained that the wall would promote sectarianism and demanded its removal. Residents said that US forces last week began building the two-kilometre (1.25 mile) wall along the border of the mainly Shiite al-Shuala and adjoining Sunni-majority al-Ghazaliyah neighbourhoods without consulting them.
The demonstrators -- tribal leaders, clerics and local residents -- marched from one neighbourhood to the other carrying banners reading "No to the dividing wall" and "The wall is US terrorism." The protesters demanded in a statement that the government intervene to halt the wall and ensure that the section already completed is demolished. "The wall is in accordance with Al-Qaeda's plans," the statement said, adding that the barrier was being built to "separate family from family."
"The wall is dividing small neighbourhoods and will lead to the partitioning of Iraq," said Hassan al-Taii, a leader of the large Taii Sunni tribe. He demanded that the Baghdad government destroy the wall and act against those "planting division and sectarianism among Iraqis." Since early this year, US and Iraqi forces have been erecting walls around or between some Baghdad neighbourhoods in what their commanders call a "concrete caterpillar" designed to protect residents from sectarian violence.
In April the military came under flak when it began constructing a ring of six-tonne (14,000 pounds) concrete blocks around the Sunni Adhamiyah neighbourhood to prevent it from being mortared from the nearby Shiite areas. Many Iraqis argue that the barricades will only heighten tensions between Sunnis and Shiites by segregating the once mixed city.
During Wednesday's protest, demonstrators carried Iarqi flags and chanted, "No, no to terrorism", and "Yes, yes to unity." "This wall does not provide security and stability," said Shiite cleric Abdul Baqir al-Subaihawi.
"The government must maintain security in Baghdad rather than separate its neighbourhoods," he added. Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr has urged artists to paint the concrete barriers springing up around Baghdad with murals showing what he dubbed the "ugly face" of the US military in Iraq.
The Baghdad council has employed professional artists to paint the walls with calming landscapes and scenes depicting Iraq's natural beauty, but Sadr -- a firebrand preacher and militia leader -- had something more dramatic in mind. "I call on you to draw magnificent tableaux that depict the ugliness and terrorist nature of the occupier, and the sedition, car bombings, blood and the like he has brought upon Iraqis," he said.
The demonstrators -- tribal leaders, clerics and local residents -- marched from one neighbourhood to the other carrying banners reading "No to the dividing wall" and "The wall is US terrorism." The protesters demanded in a statement that the government intervene to halt the wall and ensure that the section already completed is demolished. "The wall is in accordance with Al-Qaeda's plans," the statement said, adding that the barrier was being built to "separate family from family."
"The wall is dividing small neighbourhoods and will lead to the partitioning of Iraq," said Hassan al-Taii, a leader of the large Taii Sunni tribe. He demanded that the Baghdad government destroy the wall and act against those "planting division and sectarianism among Iraqis." Since early this year, US and Iraqi forces have been erecting walls around or between some Baghdad neighbourhoods in what their commanders call a "concrete caterpillar" designed to protect residents from sectarian violence.
In April the military came under flak when it began constructing a ring of six-tonne (14,000 pounds) concrete blocks around the Sunni Adhamiyah neighbourhood to prevent it from being mortared from the nearby Shiite areas. Many Iraqis argue that the barricades will only heighten tensions between Sunnis and Shiites by segregating the once mixed city.
During Wednesday's protest, demonstrators carried Iarqi flags and chanted, "No, no to terrorism", and "Yes, yes to unity." "This wall does not provide security and stability," said Shiite cleric Abdul Baqir al-Subaihawi.
"The government must maintain security in Baghdad rather than separate its neighbourhoods," he added. Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr has urged artists to paint the concrete barriers springing up around Baghdad with murals showing what he dubbed the "ugly face" of the US military in Iraq.
The Baghdad council has employed professional artists to paint the walls with calming landscapes and scenes depicting Iraq's natural beauty, but Sadr -- a firebrand preacher and militia leader -- had something more dramatic in mind. "I call on you to draw magnificent tableaux that depict the ugliness and terrorist nature of the occupier, and the sedition, car bombings, blood and the like he has brought upon Iraqis," he said.
Labels: Abdul Baqir al-Subaihawi, al-Ghazaliyah, al-Shuala, Baghdad, wall
Monday, May 14, 2007
Adhamiyah residents vow to destroy security walls
Security
(Azzaman) - The residents of Adhamiya have vowed to destroy the walls U.S. troops are constructing to separate Baghdad neighborhoods on sectarian grounds. “We shall destroy the walls the notorious occupation is constructing and keep our city an integral part of Iraq,” a statement by a newly formed resistance group said.The statement emailed to the newspaper, said the wall separating Adhamiya from the rest of Baghdad “must be brought down” and this will be “achieved through the power and muscles of all the residents of Baghdad.” The group, the Adhamiya National Youth, said U.S. troops have divided their neighborhood into two parts with aim of weakening its resistance.
“Those who constructed the wall realize that the attacks targeting Adhamiya from all sides are being carried out by the death squads which the occupation and Israeli intelligence have set up,” the statement said. In another development, the inhabitants of Kadhimiya, a Shiite-dominated neighborhood have joined forces with the Sunni majority Adhamiya to have the pulled down.
The two neighborhoods are working to demonstrate that the two sects can tolerate each other and live peacefully together. The neighborhoods and their elders are lobbying the parliament which recently passed a resolution demanding the destruction of the wall. They are also mobilizing the inhabitants to stand firmly against U.S. plans to encircle Baghdad neighborhoods with concrete walls, urging the young to dismantle the existing ones.
Labels: Adhamiya National Youth, Adhamiyah, Kadhimiya, wall
Monday, April 23, 2007
Wall to be constructed in Muqdadiyah for security
Security
(VOI) - Iraqi security forces have embarked on constructing a concrete wall in Muqdadiyah district, while seven suspected gunmen were arrested in Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad, a security source said on Saturday. "Security forces started today constructing a concrete wall in central Muqdadiyah under new security measures taken to protect residents in the district," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). He added "the wall will enable total control of Muqdadiyah to curb the armed attacks that targeted civilians and security forces in the city." Muqdadiyah is 45 km east of Baaquba, capital city of Diala province. Meanwhile, the source said seven suspected militants were detained during a security crackdown carried out by Iraqi and U.S. troops in Baaquba.
Labels: Diyala, Muqdadiya, security, wall
