Iraqi prime minister calls for halt to Baghdad wall

Washington said on Apr. 23 that it would "respect" the Iraqi prime minister's opposition to the construction of a wall sealing off a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad. However, Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, refused to confirm whether building work would stop. "Obviously we will respect the wishes of the government and the prime minister," Crocker said. "I'm not sure where we are right now concerning our discussions on how to move forward on this particular issue." His comments came a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he had asked Washington to halt work on the wall. Speaking during a visit to Egypt for negotiations, Maliki voiced his opposition to the barrier, which US troops began constructing under cover of darkness on Apr. 10. Maliki has asked the US to find alternative means to protect the area, saying the barrier "might have repercussions which remind us of other walls, which we reject." Hundreds of people took to the streets on Apr. 23 in northern Baghdad to demonstrate against the wall. Crocker said the wall was intended to "bring down the level of violence," adding that it was "in no one's intention or thinking that this is going to be a permanent state of affairs."