University security stepped up following attacks

Universities in the capital have stepped up security measures following a series of recent explosions that resulted in the death of about 25 college students and badly hurt school attendance, according to university sources. “We had to adopt stringent security measures like preventing students’ parents from entering the college without authorisation,” said Baghdad University medical lecturer Dr Ali Husseiny. “Students are giving up their dreams because of the irresponsibility of groups that just want to stop the development of Iraq.” Currently, university entrances are flanked by security check-points, while anyone without a valid identity card is stopped and questioned. Since January, two major universities – Baghdad and Mustansiriyah – have been subject to regular attacks. More than 30 people associated with the two schools, including both students and lecturers, have been killed due to ongoing violence. As a result, school attendance has dropped noticeably, say university administrators. “Day after day, we’ve seen low attendance by our students, who are afraid to be the next victims of violence,” said Mustansiriyah University biology lecturer Kaukab Yassin. According to Husseiny, the directors of the universities have asked the Ministry of Interior to reinforce security at university campuses. Hassan Baker, a senior interior ministry official, said that the number of armed policemen patrolling university campuses would be increased, but also urged universities to take their own emergency precautions. “We ask colleges not to close their doors in the event of an explosion, so that – should there be a second explosion – people outside the gates aren’t hurt," Baker said. During the most recent incident at Mustansiriyah University on 24 April, six students were killed by a second bomb after the college entrance was sealed following an initial explosion minutes earlier. On 30 April, students held a rally commemorating their fallen colleagues. According to officials at the Ministry of Higher Education, at least 250 university students have been killed in the vicinity of their colleges since the US-led invasion in mid-2003, which plunged the country into violence.