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The Green Zone houses gov't buildings, foreign embassies

CCTV.com

05-02-2016 13:06 BJT

The Green Zone, where the protesters were camped, is also known as the International Zone of Baghdad. Iraq's key government institutions and foreign embassies, including the UN office, are located in the 10-square-kilometer area in central Iraq. It was once the administrative center of Saddam Hussein's regime.

In 2003, US military forces took it over and surrounded it with concrete walls and wire fences. In 2009, control was handed over to the Iraqi government. But it was not until 2015 that the area was open to the public for the first time in 12 years.

The opening is part of the political reform by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, as the term "Green Zone" has for many Iraqis become synonymous with the disconnect between the country’s rulers and the harsh realities of ordinary citizens.

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