Baghdad’s decade-old curfew to end on Saturday

Iraqi soldiers patrol the streets in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad on February 5, 2015. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered an end to a years-old nightly curfew in the Iraqi capital in a bid to ease restrictions on daily life despite persistent violence. Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP photoShow less

BAGHDAD // Baghdad’s decade-old curfew will end on Saturday as Iraq’s prime minister Haider Al Abadi seeks to normalise the capital.

Lifting the curfew is a major change to a longstanding policy aimed at curbing violence in the capital by limiting movement at night.

It has, however, failed to stop the frequent bombings that hit Baghdad.

“The prime minister ordered that the curfew in the city of Baghdad be completely lifted starting from this Saturday,” said Brigadier General Saad Maan, the spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command.

Mr Abadi wants there “to be normal life as much as possible, despite the existence of a state of war”, his spokesman Rafid Jaboori said, referring to the battle against ISIL.

While some form of curfew has been in place since the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003, the most recent midnight (2100 GMT) to 5am curfew was started more than seven years ago.

The decision to scrap it comes as Iraqi forces battle to regain ground from the militant group which spearheaded an offensive that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad last June.

Federal troops that initially wilted under the offensive have since regained significant territory with support from Shiite militiamen, Sunni tribesmen and US-led airstrikes.

In the north, forces from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region are also making gains against ISIL, and evidence of atrocities likely committed by the group has been found in retaken areas.

While ISIL may have been pushed back, the threat remains.

Deadly attacks are a regular occurrence in Baghdad. Four bombs went off in a central district on Tuesday, killing nine civilians and wounding 25 others.

At least 12 people were killed on Friday by bombs at a busy market.

Gains by security forces have not stopped militants from carrying out attacks in Baghdad, which they were able to do even when violence was at a low ebb in 2011-20112.

Bombs still rip through markets, cafes and crowded intersections, and militants continue to target security forces in the capital.

But Mr Abadi’s spokesman Rafid Jaboori said, “Baghdad was under real threat only a few months ago, but now Baghdad is secure enough ... to lift the night-time curfew.”

“Life goes on although Iraq is at war and is aiming to liberate the rest of the country,” he said.

Although much of Iraq remains out of Mr Abadi’s direct control, inside the capital he has empowered the police to arrest wayward militia members suspected of kidnapping civilians. He has also sought to ban armed convoys parading through Baghdad.

Mr Abadi also directed that important streets in the capital be opened “to facilitate the movement of citizens” and that several neighbourhoods be “demilitarised zones”.

Interior ministry spokesman Brig Gen Maan said that demilitarising the Khadimiya, Adhamiya, Mansour and Saidiya districts meant heavy weapons would be banned, some checkpoints would be closed and local security forces rather than national security units would make arrests in those areas.

Checkpoints along major roads and at the entrance to most neighbourhoods have become a fact of life for Baghdad residents, creating long lines of traffic while politicians’ convoys speed through the city with armed guards who act with impunity.

Mr Abadi ordered a separate neighbourhood demilitarised last weekend after heavily armed gunmen protesting against an alleged kidnapping clashed with security forces.

Scrapping the curfew does away with a measure that restricts the lives of ordinary people, but it does little to stop the near-daily attacks they have suffered for years.

* Reuters and Agence France-Presse