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Iraqi PM Calls Off Wall

Prime Minister al-Maliki ordered a stop to a wall between a Sunni and Shiite neighborhood

By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 23, 2007 6:07 AM CDT

(Newser) – Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki halted construction of a wall between a Sunni neighborhood and surrounding Shiite areas in Baghdad yesterday, after outraged protests by both Sunnis and Shiites. Al-Maliki said he did not want Iraqis to be reminded of "other walls"—a reference to the barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank.

The wall was intended to stem frequent attacks from the Shiites on the Sunnis in the Adhamiya region, as well as controlling Sunni militias. But both factions attacked it as a step towards partitioning the country. “Today it happens in Adhamiya," a Sadr spokesman noted. "Tomorrow it will happen in Sadr City,”

In this photo released by U.S. Army, an Iraqi contractor attaches chains to a concrete barrier so that a crane can lift it into place alongside a road in the Sunni Muslim quarter of Azamiyah, Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, April 10, 2007. Criticism mounted Saturday over a wall U.S....
In this photo released by U.S. Army, an Iraqi contractor attaches chains to a concrete barrier so that a crane can lift it into place alongside a road in the Sunni Muslim quarter of Azamiyah, Baghdad,...   (Associated Press)
This undated document released by the Azamiyah local council  in Baghdad, Iraq on Friday, April 20, 2007, shows plans for building a security barrier around a Sunni Muslim neighborhood. Criticism mounted over a wall U.S. troops are building around a Sunni enclave surrounded by Shiite areas in Baghdad, with...
This undated document released by the Azamiyah local council in Baghdad, Iraq on Friday, April 20, 2007, shows plans for building a security barrier around a Sunni Muslim neighborhood. Criticism mounted...   (Associated Press)
ity did not approve the project before construction began.    (AP Photo/Azamiyah local council  in Baghdad)
ity did not approve the project before construction began. (AP Photo/Azamiyah local council in Baghdad)   (Associated Press)
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