Baghdad Wall? Abadi Rep Confirms Plans, Insists It's Not 'Politically Motivated'

A day after brushing off the idea of a Baghdad wall, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi confirmed that there are plans for one, but it is "not politically motivated" or aimed at "achieving demographic change."

According to The Associated Press, the prime minister put out a statement last week dismissing the concept of a wall around the city.

"Baghdad is the capital for all Iraqis and it's not possible for a wall or a fence to isolate the city," the original statement said, the wire agency reported.

But on Sunday, a spokesman for the prime minister confirmed the plans, saying that the so-called "wall" would add checkpoints in the city aimed at reducing ISIS routes used to bring in car bombs.

Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, a spokesman for Iraq’s Interior Ministry, originally announced plans for the so-called "wall" on Feb. 3, saying that work had begun on a 65-mile stretch. It was to be 10 feet high and and incorporate concrete barriers already in use, according to The New York Times.

"It's not a wall exactly," Maan said Sunday, according to the AP. "We have reduced the number of attacks inside Baghdad, but we are working to prevent them completely."

News about a potential wall sparked mixed reaction on Twitter:

Wall project was sketchy. Baghdad isn't under attack from outside the city. Terror cells inside #Iraq's capital/nearby towns = bigger worry.

— Haidar Sumeri (@IraqiSecurity) February 7, 2016

Wow. It really is back to the Middle Ages: Iraq: Baghdad to Get a Security Wall and Trench https://t.co/VyHqVGXcMS

— Jon Lee Anderson (@jonleeanderson) February 4, 2016

Baghdad is erecting a 10ft wall around the city- our open borders people need to tell them how that doesn't work.

— El Halcon (@GaryLHawkinsII) February 3, 2016

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