Iraqi customs officials ordered to impose import ban on alcohol

Move met with indignation by many across country, where liquor sales have boomed in recent years

Over the past two decades of problems in Iraq, where to find a drink has never been one of them. But one of the country’s most popular vices – alcohol – is again at the centre of a tussle between hardliners, who are demanding an import ban, and drinkers intent on defying them.

The latest row about whether alcohol can be served has followed a decree from a conservative cabinet minister at the weekend that ordered customs officials to impose an import ban on liquor.