End of Curfew Regulations in Baghdad After Years

The Iraqi government ended nighttime curfew regulations in the capital on Saturday, February 6, after more than a decade, aiming to restore normalcy to the lives of the people. On the same day, nearly 40 people were killed and dozens injured in explosions in Baghdad. The lifting of the curfew and the demilitarization of parts of Baghdad is intended to allow citizens to return to their normal lives and to demonstrate that the capital is not facing threats from extremists. These regulations, which have been lifted after years, were imposed to prevent attacks, explosions, and bombings since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Reuters reports that the effort to restore normal life in Baghdad could represent a small but tangible achievement for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government. Mr. Abadi, who has been in office since last summer, is trying to create calm and unity among Iraqi ethnic groups amid attacks from the Islamic State group and escalating sectarian violence. A shopkeeper in Baghdad told Reuters, 'This (lifting of the curfew) is very good for us because we felt like we were in prison all these years.' AFP also reported that a group of people gathered in the center of the capital, lit fires, waved Iraqi flags from their vehicles, and danced in celebration. The curfew was enforced from midnight to 5 AM. However, the day the regulations were lifted was not without bloodshed, as at least 37 people lost their lives in a series of explosions in the capital. Most of the victims were civilians, and one of the attacks was a suicide bombing in an eastern neighborhood of the capital. Two explosions also occurred in a crowded market and a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad. In this context, the Prime Minister of Iraq accused 'law-breaking criminals' of mass executions in Diyala province. Another commander of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq was killed, and the bomb explosions in Baghdad left at least 40 dead.