09/04/2013 - Baghdad is a city ravaged by a decade of war and insurgent attacks, making the news for spates of violence. But for the city's 7 million inhabitants, it is where they work, go to the theatre, love and marry. FRANCE 24 takes a look at daily life in the capital.
Violence has profoundly changed the face of Baghdad. It was one of the most important capitals of the Middle East, as well as one of the richest in the region. Today, the Iraqi capital appears to be lacerated by concrete walls. Each district is fortified, partitioned by the police and the army. Checkpoints cause huge traffic jams, while heavily armed men make their way through snaking lines of vehicles equipped with explosive detectors.
Iraq has one of the largest security forces in the world; the Interior Ministry employs around 500,000 people. Every street corner offers a familiar sight of Kalashnikov-toting policemen in bulletproof vests monitoring the traffic from their armored Hummers. These weapons and walls lend Baghdad a post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
On the morning of March 19, 2013, residents of this sprawling city situated on the Tigris River were reminded about the necessity of this heavy security presence.
Al Qaeda is marking the tenth anniversary of the 2003 US invasion. read more>>>
April 9, 2013 - Americans will debate the wisdom or the folly of the war in Iraq. In a recent poll, opponents of the war outnumbered supporters 54 percent to 38 percent.
April 9, 2013 marks the tenth anniversary of one of the most symbolic moments in the Iraq War -- the fall of Saddam Hussein's statue in central Baghdad.
But the event is remembered very differently by two men who were present that day.
Three weeks into the war, Marine Sgt. Ed Chin got the order: Help the Iraqis celebrating in Baghdad's Firdos Square topple the statue of Saddam Hussein. read more>>>
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