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| Iraq |
| Iraqis oppose reopening Baghdad bridge |
| 2008-01-03 |
| For decades, the Imams Bridge spanning the Tigris river linked two ancient Baghdad neighborhoods — one Sunni, the other Shiite — and illustrated the city's tradition of sectarian tolerance, as residents from both sides harmoniously intermingled. But the Imams was sealed and barricaded after nearly 1,000 Shiites fleeing what they thought was a Sunni suicide bomber died in a stampede on the bridge in 2005. It has remained closed through the past two years of rampant sectarian violence across the capital. Iraqi authorities now want to reopen the four-lane, 900-foot bridge. For most residents, however, the wounds are too fresh and the fears too real to risk opening a passageway between the two communities. They are fighting the plan. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |