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FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2018 file photo, Iraqi security forces stand guard as they check motorists entering the Green Zone, in Baghdad, Iraq. The Green Zone has been a barometer for tension and conflict in Iraq for nearly two decades. The 4-square mile (10-square kilometer), heavily guarded strip on the Tigris River was known as "Little America" following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. It then became a hated symbol of the country's inequality, fueling the perception among Iraqis that their government is out of touch. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

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In this Tuesday, May 28, 2019 photo, Iraqi traffic police officers stand at a busy intersection inside the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. The zone has been a barometer for tension and conflict in Iraq for nearly two decades. The sealed-off area, with its palm trees and monuments, is home to the gigantic U.S. Embassy in Iraq, one of the largest diplomatic missions in the world. It has also been home to successive Iraqi governments and is off limits to most Iraqis. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)

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FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2009 file photo, Iraqi soldiers practice ahead of the Army Day parade at the “Victory Arch”, in Baghdad's Green Zone, Iraq. The zone has been a barometer for tension and conflict in Iraq for nearly two decades. The sealed-off area, with its palm trees and monuments, is home to the gigantic U.S. Embassy in Iraq, one of the largest diplomatic missions in the world. It has also been home to successive Iraqi governments and is off limits to most Iraqis. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

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In this Tuesday, May 28, 2019 photo, Iraqi security forces remove concrete blast walls at the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. The Green Zone has been a barometer for tension and conflict in Iraq for nearly two decades. The 4-square mile (10-square kilometer), heavily guarded strip on the Tigris River was known as "Little America" following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. It then became a hated symbol of the country's inequality, fueling the perception among Iraqis that their government is out of touch. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)

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FILE - In this March 31, 2016 file photo, followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr wave national flags as they end their sit-in outside the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq. The zone has been a barometer for tension and conflict in Iraq for nearly two decades. The sealed-off area, with its palm trees and monuments, is home to the gigantic U.S. Embassy in Iraq, one of the largest diplomatic missions in the world. It has also been home to successive Iraqi governments and is off limits to most Iraqis. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Baghdad's Green Zone reopens to the public

By Associated Press AP

PUBLISHED 1:26 PM ET Jun. 04, 2019

BAGHDAD (AP) — Baghdad's Green Zone area, the heavily fortified strip on the west bank of the Tigris River, reopened to the public Tuesday after 16 years — a move meant to portray increased confidence in the country's overall security situation after years of war.

Maj. Gen. Jassim Yahya Abd Ali told The Associated Press that the area, which houses the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices, is now open "twenty-four hours a day without any exceptions or conditions."

The 4-square mile (10-square kilometer) with its palm trees and monuments has been off limits to the public since the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.

"I feel that Baghdad is bigger than before," said Atheir Assem, a 25-year-old who drove his car inside the Green Zone for the first time in his life on Tuesday. He said his generation didn't know anything about the Green Zone and felt that people there lived in another country.

"Now there is no difference, and this is beautiful," he said.

The area was home to Saddam Hussein's palaces before the war. It then became known as "Little America" following the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled him, after it was seized by U.S. military forces. In later years, the walled off area surrounded by cement blast walks became a hated symbol of the country's inequality, fueling the perception among Iraqis that their government is out of touch.

Only Iraqis with special security badges could enter the area.

Various attempts and promises by the Iraqi government to open the Green Zone to traffic over the past years have failed to materialize, because of persistent security concerns.

Earlier this year, the government began easing restrictions in the area. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said the Green Zone will be fully open to the public on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

Ali said authorities removed d 12,000 concrete walls from the area.

"Thank God the opening of the Green Zone happened during the Eid. ... It is a very good initiative and will ease transportation in Baghdad," said Abdullah Mouhamed, a taxi driver.

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