Diwaniya armed operations victims to receive ID50b compensations

DIWANIYA / IraqiNews.com: Finance Minister Baqer Jabr ordered the release of 50 billion Iraqi dinars (ID) allocated by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for al-Diwaniya in compensations for victims of armed operations in the province, a local media official said on Tuesday. “The sum, appropriated by Prime Minister Maliki during his visit to Diwaniya a couple of weeks ago, will be given out to victims of armed operations in the province in the past years,” Mouayad al-Ansari, Diwaniya provincial council chief’s media advisor, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The instructions came during a meeting between a delegation led by Diwaniya provincial council chief Jubeir al-Juburi and Minister Jabr,” he added. The two sides also discussed the resumption of works on the Diwaniya-Muthanna highway, known as “Death Road,” after a two-year hiatus due to lack of financial appropriations. During a phone call between Jabr and the Iraqi minister of housing, they agreed on re-referring the project to tender to complete the project. The 120-km-long Diwaniya-Muthanna highway is one of the main roads linking central and southern Iraq. It is often used by heavy trucks. The city of Diwaniya lies 180 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (S) 1