Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has re-opened the heavily fortified Green-Zone in the capital Baghdad to the public after 12 years, a statement from his office said on Monday.

The Green-Zone, home to government buildings and several foreign embassies, was closed to the public after the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“The re-opening of the Green Zone is part of the measures we promised to our citizens,” al-Abadi was quoted as saying in the statement.

Private cars drove into the area in central Baghdad shortly after its re-opening.

Al-Abadi, who took office last year, pledged in the statement to go ahead with reforms prompted by a recent wave of street protests against official corruption and government incompetence.

Iraqi authorities this year lifted a decade-old night time curfew in Baghdad despite a surge in attacks targeting mostly Shiite areas in the city.

Most attacks have been claimed by the Sunni radical Islamic State militia, which controls large territory in Iraq