Forces tighten security in hopes of safer Ramadan in Baghdad

Baghdad: Despite improved security here, Iraqi forces are leaving nothing to chance to ensure fool-proof safety during Ramadan.

Security personnel are patrolling the markets that are frequented by residents during Ramadan.

"We have witnessed terrible explosions during Ramadan in the past, but this season we are determined to stop all that.

"We have adopted measures that include deployment of security officers in civilian clothes to detect suspicious activities that may endanger the lives of citizens during Ramadan," Hussain Mouaiad, an officer in the Iraqi Army in the New Baghdad area, told Gulf News.

Better than before

In an effort to strengthen the Ramadan spirit and rekindle fond memories of past Ramadan seasons, the city's municipality has declared that all places of recreation and entertainment will be open after iftar and will receive those who are fasting.

Faten Zeid, a university student, told Gulf News: "I feel Ramadan this year will be better. The past five years have witnessed extreme suffering, especially the horrible sectarian violence witnessed in 2005 and 2006."

Unlike previous years, the Iraqi Interior Ministry has warned that it will prosecute any citizen who refuses to take part in the fast.

"I feel very happy this Ramadan," Fawzia Al Mandalaoi, an Iraqi woman, told Gulf News. "I am eager to watch several television series this month and prepare food for my family."

Al Musaharati Nazim Baraka is the person responsible for alerting people at the time of Al Suhur (pre-dawn breakfast). He does this by beating drums an hour before the call for prayer. In past years, Al Musaharati would not have dared perform this tradition during the unsafe hours before sunrise and as a result Baghdad has witnessed the disappearance of the tradition.

"This year, I bought a large drum and I will resume the tradition, which people are eagerly anticipating," he said. "I have promised my neighbours in Al Bai'aa area that they will hear the drums louder than before the war."