Parliament to investigate land subdivision after police commander killed

BAGHDAD — Parliament has moved to investigate the subdivision of agricultural land and encroachment in Baghdad after a police commander and another officer were shot dead during a demolition operation in Doura, two lawmakers said.

The leadership has directed that those responsible face the harshest penalties and that an investigation be opened into land subdivision and the individuals and entities behind it, MP Yousif al-Kalabi told Al-Sabah. Clearing and unauthorised subdivision of farmland has expanded unregulated neighbourhoods, changed Baghdad’s urban form and cut green space, he said, and parliament would follow the investigations through the Security and Defence Committee.

MP Abdul Hamza al-Khafaji blamed poor administration and the absence of any policy on distributing residential land, and said influential economic entities and groups had taken control of large areas and subdivided them systematically. He did not name them. He called the Doura shooting “a dangerous indicator of the violators’ audacity,” said people had turned to informal settlements because there are no government housing programmes, and called for legislation protecting security and service personnel dealing directly with the public.

Brig. Gen. Hisham Mohammed Talaa, who directed the Baghdad Municipality Police Department on the Karkh side, and security member Khalid Abbas Lafta were killed on Thursday when demolition teams came under fire in Karara, in Hayy Dijla. Four others were wounded. Security forces arrested the suspected gunman on Saturday, and had already increased deployments in areas where state land has been encroached on.