US army to continue Baghdad wall

Farris said that construction of the barrier would continue in the near future – although he did not specify an exact date.

 

“We will begin placing the barriers shortly, assisting the Iraqi security forces in placing the barrier along the Adhimiya,” he said.

 

 

The US army and the Iraqi security services said in mid-April they had begun constructing the wall around Adhimiya to stop Sunni car-bombers leaving the area and to stop Shia death squads from getting in.

 

Col Farris said on Thursday that the intention of the wall was still to stop vehicle movement into and out of the area, rather than to prevent the passage of people on foot.

The Iraqi government plans to build walls around several Baghdad districts

 

“It’s not a wall – if you will – the intent is that there’s no limitation of pedestrian traffic,” he said.

 

After the Iraqi government began building the wall, heavy criticism forced Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, to order a stop to the construction – an order which he has now apparently reversed.

 

The barrier – composed of upright concrete blocks several metres high – is part of a wider effort by the Iraqi government to halt violence in the capital.