Armenians in Kuwait British mandate then. In August 1990, Iraq declared war on Kuwait and invaded its tiny neighbour. During this time, many Kuwaiti-Armenians left for neighbouring Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon and the Persian Gulf. Other Armenians fled to Baghdad by car, from where they fled to Syria. The remaining Armenians were mostly workers with no way of escaping. During the invasion, the Armenian school and church were shut down and guarded in order to stop looters from attacking the institutions. The Armenian institutions remained unscathed during the war. After the Iraqis were driven out of Kuwait by the coalition forces,
Iraq–Kuwait barrier barrier began in 1991. In January 2004, Kuwait decided to install a new 217 km iron border barrier along the existing border. The stated needs were protecting the northern border, and preventing cars coming from Iraq from approaching the electricity bars. The barrier will cost an estimated 28 million dollars and will extend from Umm Qasr until the joint border triangle where Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait meet. Asphalted roads will be also constructed to facilitate border security movement. Under Saddam Hussein's rule (until the Liberation of Kuwait in 1991) Iraq viewed Kuwait as part of Iraq, and viewed the