Snow blankets Iraq's Baghdad city first time in 12 years

Baghdad - People in Baghdad have woken up to a sight not seen in over a decade: their city covered in snow.

By AP

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Iraq has grappled with months of unrest, beginning with an anti-government protest movement which engulfed the country in October, and the US killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad in early January, which brought the region close to war amid soaring US-Iran tensions.
Iraq has grappled with months of unrest, beginning with an anti-government protest movement which engulfed the country in October, and the US killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad in early January, which brought the region close to war amid soaring US-Iran tensions.
“Thank God it is snowing this morning,” said Aymen Ahmed, a protester. “The atmosphere is beautiful ... the people are very happy because this is the first time snow falls in Iraq.”
“Thank God it is snowing this morning,” said Aymen Ahmed, a protester. “The atmosphere is beautiful ... the people are very happy because this is the first time snow falls in Iraq.”
Annual snowfall is common in the mountainous northern region of Iraq, but very rare in Baghdad. The last time the capital saw snow was in 2008.
Annual snowfall is common in the mountainous northern region of Iraq, but very rare in Baghdad. The last time the capital saw snow was in 2008.
The movement is entering a critical phase, after influential cleric Muqtada Al Sadr, who initially threw his weight behind demonstrators, withdrew it. Tensions have since seethed between protesters and al-Sadr’s followers.In the city’s central Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest movement, protesters took a moment to observe the snowfall and dusted the flakes off their sit-in tents.
The movement is entering a critical phase, after influential cleric Muqtada Al Sadr, who initially threw his weight behind demonstrators, withdrew it. Tensions have since seethed between protesters and al-Sadr’s followers.In the city’s central Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest movement, protesters took a moment to observe the snowfall and dusted the flakes off their sit-in tents.
The last time the capital saw snow was in 2008.
The last time the capital saw snow was in 2008.

Published: Tue 11 Feb 2020, 4:01 PM

Last updated: Tue 11 Feb 2020, 6:55 PM

By midday, the snow had melted in most parts of the city. “It was a beautiful moment,” said Mariam, another protester. She gave only her first name, fearing reprisals like most anti-government protesters.“Now life goes back to normal.”
By midday, the snow had melted in most parts of the city. “It was a beautiful moment,” said Mariam, another protester. She gave only her first name, fearing reprisals like most anti-government protesters.“Now life goes back to normal.”

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