Iraq – People of Samarra appeal to the government to open their city closed by Iranian factions.

Samarra city – Saladin Governorate 04.11.2020

In Saladin Governorate, in Samarra, people are concerned about the continuation of the closure of the city by Iranian military factions, calling on the Iraqi government to intervene. Activists of civil society organizations indicated that the city is witnessing a demographic shift as a result of the military factions of Iran imposing a security blockade on the city, in addition to preventing people from neighboring provinces from entering the city. Businessmen of the city pointed out, after the bombings, in 2006, targeting the most prominent Shia’s holy shrine, the shrine of Imams Hassan Al-Askari and Ali Al-Hadi, the armed factions of Iran closed shops and emptied houses in the old parts of the city under the presence of terrorist groups. Previously, Iraqi sources said that the Iranian ambassador had a meeting last February, with the governor of Saladin Ammar Jabr and several officials to negotiate the division of Saladin into two governorates so the new governorates include Samarra, Balad, and Dujail (Shia population) reaching the borders of Baghdad, the capital.