Baghdad Before & After 2006-2007 Sectarian Violence

The two maps above show the impact sectarian violence had on Baghdad’s neighbourhoods in terms of ethnic composition between 2006 and 2007.

The green sections above show Shi’a majority areas (70% of Iraq’s population), red are Sunni majority areas (32% of Iraq’s population & the group Saddam Hussein belonged to), blue are Christian majority areas (5% of Iraq’s population) and yellow are mixed areas where no majority exists.

The striking thing about the map is of course the loss of mixed areas in favour of Shi’a and Sunni majority areas. Interestingly, Christian majority areas remained largely unchanged.

You can learn about the long history of Baghdad and sectarian violence in Iraq from the following books:

• The Sunni-Shia Conflict: Understanding Sectarian Violence in the Middle East
• The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq
• Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood–A History in Thirteen Centuries
• Understanding Iraq: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan’s Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation
• America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History

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