Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone reopens to public

Baghdad’s Green Zone area, the heavily fortified strip on the west bank of the Tigris River, is now open to the public around the clock, Iraqi security officials said.

Maj. Gen. Jassim Yahya Abd Ali said that the area that houses the US Embassy and Iraqi government offices is now open “twenty-four hours a day without any exceptions or conditions,” AP reported.

The area was closed to the public since the 2003 US invasion. Earlier this year, the government began easing restrictions in the area. It said the Green Zone will be fully open to the public on Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

The move is meant to portray increased confidence in Iraq’s overall security situation.