The great wall of KSA: Saudi to construct 600-mile wall to keep IS out

Proposal to build this wall has been discussed since 2006, when Iraqi war was at its height

RIYADH: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is building a 600-mile long “Great Wall,” a combined fence and ditch which will separate the country from Iraq to the north in a bid to keep militant organisation the Islamic State (IS) out of its borders, The Telegraph reported.  

Most of the area on the Iraqi side is controlled by the IS, which considers Saudi’s capture as its ultimate goal.

The proposal to build this wall has been discussed since 2006, when the Iraqi war was at its height. Work on the wall, however, began in September last year after IS’s charge through much of the west and north of the country gave it a substantial land border with the Kingdom to the south.

The border zone now includes five layers of fencing with watch towers, night-vision cameras and radar cameras.

Further, Riyadh has also sent an extra 30,000 troops to stay guard at the area.

It has also created a physical barrier along parts of the even longer, 1,000-mile border with Yemen to the south.