Baghdad Fence: A security measure or a new barrier?

As war rages in Iraq to drive back the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL) from the large swaths of territories it has seized, the Shia-led government appears to be building a new order in Baghdad.

Last week, Iraqi military chiefs announced that the "Baghdad Fence", now being erected on the fringe of the capital, is to protect it from "criminal acts of the terrorists groups".

More immediately, the first phase of the "Baghdad Fence", which the army began building on February 1, is a 100km security barricade that includes a wall and a trench around the sprawling city.

As detailed by the Major General Abdel Amir al-Shimari,  the commander of Baghdad Operations, a 3m-high blast wall and a 3x2m trench will be built along the full length of the barrier.

However, on Saturday Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi prime minister, dismissed the plan to encircle Baghdad with a concrete wall. "Baghdad is the capital of all Iraqis," he said in a statement. 

At first glance, a security plan to protect the city, which also includes guard towers and electronic surveillance equipment, looks realistic. Yet the idea of a fence separating the capital from the rest of the country seems nothing short of an admission of failure. see more >> http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/baghdad-fence-security-measure-barrier-160210063440720.html