Security trench around Fallujah leaves residents feeling trapped
The Iraqi government is digging a trench to protect Fallujah, but the idea is raising concerns that civilians will end up isolated from the rest of the country.
BAGHDAD — Many political and security leaders in Baghdad support digging a trench to insulate the hard-won city of Fallujah from infiltrators. However, those leaders might have to dig themselves out of a hole with the community's residents, who don't like the idea of being restricted.
The leaders blame bombings in Baghdad on the city's proximity to Fallujah in Anbar province. They say car bombs originate from Fallujah, where the cars were booby-trapped. Baghdad is roughly 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Fallujah.
In response, workers are digging an almost 7-mile (11-kilometer) trench that will have a single crossing for Fallujah residents, according to Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, deputy commander of the counterterrorism forces that led recent operations to liberate Fallujah from the Islamic State. The plan is also designed to prevent ousted IS fighters from returning. Saadi told Al-Monitor by phone July 31 that the trench will run between the Iraqi army's first and fourth divisions for security purposes, and is not intended to isolate residents.
Those residents, who will be issued electronic passes to come and go, still fear being cut off from the rest of Iraq.
