Iraq to bid farewell to the new year in a general mourning day

The Iraqis have decided to bid farewell to the current year in their own special way that complies with the conditions they have been living in for 10 years as a result of the UN sanctions imposed on them since 1990.

Instead of celebrating the new year like all other peoples on the world by organizing cultural and artistic festivities, "the Iraqis consider that day as a day of national mourning in which various activities will be carried out to highlight the volume of the humanitarian catastrophe and a national cry for all peace- and freedom-loving forces in the world to raise their voice high against the continued sanctions imposed on Iraq, which, so far have resulted in the death of 1.5 million Iraqis."