Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Saturday to reopen the streets of the heavily fortified Green Zone in downtown Baghdad starting on Monday, a year after the announcement of the Iraqi authorities victory over the organization of the Islamic state.
Last October, Abdul-Mahdi transferred the prime minister's office outside the Green Zone for the first time since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Abdul Mahdi's office said it had ordered the gradual reopening of the streets of the Green Zone from Monday to coincide with the first anniversary of the declaration of victory over the state organization, which controlled a third of the country.
The statement added that the opening of the streets of the Green Zone will be over two weeks after which the evaluation of the experiment and expansion "to ensure the convenience of citizens."
Area sensitivity
The Green Zone, established after the US-led invasion in 2003, is located on the bank of the Tigris River in central Baghdad. It has an area of 10 square kilometers. It includes Iraqi government headquarters, presidential palace, parliament building and diplomatic missions, as well as homes of the majority of Iraqi officials.
The area is highly fortified at the security level, and is not accessible to Iraqis, and is surrounded by a wall of high cement blocks.
For years, Baghdad's Green Zone has become a symbol of the isolation of politicians from citizens who for years were at risk of bombings and other violence, while politicians were hiding behind the fortresses of this region.
The Green Zone has been a frequent target of mortars since the US invasion of Iraq, and was besieged by followers of the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in 2016 in protest against the government and to demand its resignation.