Concrete, barbed wire barriers removed off Diwaniya’s streets
Diwaniya, 21 December 2007 (Voices of Iraq)
Diwaniya’s municipalities department removed all the concrete barricades, watchtowers and barbed wire barriers off two main streets in the centre of the province, an official source said on Thursday.
“Under instructions from Diwaniya Governor Hamid al-Khudari, the municipalities department removed all concrete barricades and watchtowers off the streets where the old provincial council building and the police department are located,” the head of the department, Jawad Kadhem Gharkan, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The step aims to end traffic jams and ease the flow of traffic, especially after the recent improvement in the security situation and the move of local authorities to a new building, al-Khudari indicated.
Speaking to VOI, Diwaniya Mayor said that order returned to the province following the wide-scale security operation Lion’s Leap, conducted by Iraqi police and army personnel more than a month ago.
The Shiite province of Diwaniya lies 180 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Iraq Updates