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Iraq’s Abadi dismisses Baghdad wall plans Iraqi Kurds protest against Turkey, 3 police wounded
(about 7 hours later)
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Prime Minister is dismissing plans to build a wall around the Iraqi capital, according to a statement released by his office Saturday night. IRBIL, Iraq — Protests against Turkey in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region turned violent on Sunday, with three police officers wounded.
The plan for the wall was originally drafted by the Interior Ministry as an effort to prevent Islamic State group attacks inside Baghdad. Hundreds of protesters gathered Sunday outside the United Nations compound in the northern city of Irbil calling for an end to Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, Syria and southern Turkey. Local media reported that three police were wounded.
“Baghdad is the capital for all Iraqis and it’s not possible for a wall or a fence to isolate the city,” Haider al-Abadi said in the statement. Turkey began launching airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in July 2015 as part of the U.S.-led coalition’s fight against the Islamic State group. But Turkey’s main focus has been its fight against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency fighting for Kurdish autonomy.
The Interior Ministry’s spokesman, police Brig Gen Saad Maan, told The Associated Press last week that work had begun on the wall and that it would reduce the number of checkpoints inside the city.
Bombings and attacks are still a near daily occurrence in Baghdad, mainly targeting security forces and the country’s Shiite majority.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.