Iraq says modifying Baghdad neighbourhood wall

Source: Reuters

More BAGHDAD, April 25 (Reuters) - Iraq has modified a U.S. military plan to enclose a Sunni enclave in Baghdad with high concrete walls, and is using barbed wire and smaller cement barriers instead, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Wednesday.

The move to alter the controversial project follows an order from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to halt construction of the 5-km (3-mile) wall around Adhamiya, a Sunni Arab area surrounded on three sides by Shi'ite communities.

Residents have complained bitterly that the walls, up to 12 feet (3.5 metres) tall, would isolate them from other communities and sharpen sectarian tensions.

"We have sought other substitutes such as barbed wire, sand walls and small concrete barriers," Brigadier-General Qassim Moussawi, spokesman for a U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad, told Reuters.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25658250.htm

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ah, barbed wire is sooooo much better :eyes:

Barbed wire is known for its bullet-stopping properties. :crazy:

Apparently the military geniuses in Baghdad still don't
realize that cutting off communities treats the symptoms
of sectarian violence while aggravating the disease.
The walls/fences top off the complete failure of the
political mission in Iraq.