Iraqi bridge is sole link for Mosul residents rebuilding lives
Residents helpless, with their houses flattened and booby-trapped
On a pontoon bridge connecting East and West Mosul, residents of a city shattered by the battle to expel Daesh cross back and forth trying to rebuild their lives from the rubble.
The temporary structure, known as the Victory Bridge, is the only crossing over the Tigris River in the city. Other bridges, including the landmark Iron Bridge, were wrecked in nine months of urban warfare.
With Mosul back in government hands, hundreds of people stream over each day to check homes in the devastated west side, salvage belongings or find a place to stay in the east.
All have tales of hardship and suffering under three years of Daesh rule and, despite their relief that is over, now they are worried about their present predicament and the future.
Many people from West Mosul, where whole neighbourhoods were flattened in air and artillery strikes by a US-led coalition, are struggling to pay rent in temporary accommodation. Iran and Iraq signed an agreement yesterday to step up military cooperation and the fight against “terrorism and extremism”, Iranian media reported, an accord which is likely to raise concerns in Washington. Iranian Defence Minister Hussein Dehghan and his Iraqi counterpart Erfan Al Hiyali signed a memorandum of understanding in Tehran which also covered border security, logistics and training, the official news agency IRNA reported. “Extending cooperation and exchanging experiences in fighting terrorism and extremism, border security, and educational, logistical, technical and military support are among the provisions of this memorandum,” IRNA reported after the signing of the accord. Iran-Iraq ties have improved since Iran’s long-time enemy Saddam Hussain was toppled in 2003 and an Iraqi government led by Shiite Muslims came to power. US President Donald Trump has voiced concern over what he sees as growing Iranian influence in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Often they have no work and are running out of funds.
Safwan Al Habar, 48, who has a house in Al Zinjili district, had spent a morning seeking help for a particularly alarming problem — Daesh had boobytrapped his house.
“Two bombs attached to each other with wire. If you put your leg on it, it will explode,” he said. “Do you know anyone who can remove it? Every day I go to the military and every day they say come back tomorrow. I am in a mess. I’m paying rent but I want to go home.”
Civilians must walk across the bridge, which was erected for military purposes. Taxis halt on the east side about half a km away for soldiers to check papers.
People must then walk past the ruins of the Nineveh Hotel — once a luxury hangout for Iraqi generals — and down a slope to the pontoon where more soldiers lounge in the sun.
In the cavalcade coming the other way, people toted televisions, cookers, bags of clothes and other items retrieved from wrecked homes. One man had reclaimed some notebooks and an English-Arabic dictionary which he carried in a plastic bag.