Iraqis celebrated the one year anniversary of driving out the Islamic State stronghold on Dec. 10. While many approached the national holiday with a joyous attitude, some wondered about the 1.8 million Iraqis who remain displaced after the war.
Iraq on Monday celebrated the anniversary of its costly victory over the Islamic State group, which has lost virtually all the territory it once held but still carries out sporadic attacks to hang on to its last enclave in Syria near the Iraqi border.
The government declared victory last December after a grueling three-year war in which tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. Entire towns and neighborhoods were reduced to rubble in the fighting.
The government declared Monday a national holiday, and a moment of silence is planned for later in the day. Checkpoints in the capital were decorated with Iraqi flags and balloons, as security forces patrolled the streets playing patriotic music.
As part of the celebrations, authorities plan to reopen parts of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone – home to key government offices and embassies – to the public. The move is billed as an act of transparency following protests against corruption and poor public services.
The celebrations come as political infighting has hindered the formation of the government and setting next year’s budget amid an acute economic situation.
Addressing a group of Iraqi military officers, Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said it was a “proud day for all of us when our brave country defeated the enemies of life, dignity, freedom, and peace.”
He commended the security forces as well as Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who issued a fatwa, or religious edict, mobilizing volunteers after the armed forces collapsed in the face of the IS onslaught in 2014.
