The announcement that more "gated communities" are being built came after the US military said last week it was putting a 5km cement wall around Adhamiya, a mainly Sunni Arab area that is surrounded on three sides by Shiite communities.
Um Othman, 45, a teacher, said residents in Adhamiya regarded the concrete barriers as an "isolating wall."
"It will be like Palestine. The people of Adhamiya and neighboring districts have mutual historical relations, like religious festivals and marriage," she said.
RSS