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| Iraq |
| Iraqi commander sent packing after Green Zone breach |
| 2016-05-06 |
| Iraq's prime minister has sacked the commander of special forces in Baghdad's Green Zone after protesters breached the fortified area over the past week, a military statement said late on Wednesday. The removal of Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed Ridha is being seen as an indication of tightening security as authorities plan on taking a harder line against planned protesters over the weekend. Iraqi analyst Taif Jany told Al Arabiya English that angry protesters, most of them supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, broke into the Green Zone and stormed parliament on Saturday in an unprecedented security breach after years of frustration with the political elite. “The fortifications reinforce a literal barrier between Parliament and the people. Not only is the government's business conducted without our input, but we are also cut off by razor wire, guards, and enormous concrete fences,” Jany, Program Manager at Education for Peace in Iraq Center, told Al Arabiya English. Iraqi premier Haider al-Abadi issued commander Ridha’s relief order and replaced him with Maj. Gen. Karim Aboud al-Tamimi, according to a statement from Iraq's Joint Operations Command. |
| Posted by:badanov |