Iraqi PM Opens Baghdad Green Zone After 12 Years

Members of the Iraqi security forces stand guard as vehicles prepare to cross into Baghdad’s “Green Zone” on Sunday.

The four-square-mile area, which hugs the western bank of the Tigris River in central Baghdad’s Karkh district, was closed off to the public following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and comprised several government buildings and foreign embassies, hidden behind blast walls created to protect USA officials, military forces and visiting diplomats.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday announced that Baghdad’s “Green Zone” was open to the public for the first time in 12 years, albeit with many remaining restrictions.

The region, which actually buildings admininstration constructions and unfamiliar diplomatic missions such as a the United States, has grown to indicate the omission of Iraq’s chiefs from mexican people and likewise causes sizable internet traffic distraction in 7 mil mankind.

Checkpoints and concrete barriers have for years blocked bridges and highways leading into the zone, which once housed the headquarters of the USA occupation and before that one of Saddam’s palaces.

The move is part of a reform drive prompted by protests demanding greater transparency and openness.

“We are going forward with our reforms and we will not relent”, he said. Last month, in a rare show of unity, the Iraqi government unanimously backed a program proposed by al-Abadi to eliminate senior government posts and slash spending.

The Prime Minister said that we promised to open this area to the public.

The term Green Zone has for many Iraqis become synonymous with the disconnect between the country’s rulers and the harsh realities of ordinary citizens.