The Middle East: Blue Strike List
Publisher: Blue Peace Bulletin
Date: 2019
Topics: Basic Services, Conflict Causes, Data and Technologies, Disasters, Renewable Resources
Countries: Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic
The Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace has observed that the increasing tendency to use water resources and infrastructure as targets or as weapons in armed conflicts is of deep concern. In recent armed conflicts, states and non-state armed groups have destroyed and captured water installations. Water supply systems fail, supply lines are deliberately sabotaged or water resources are poisoned to intimidate civilians. Non-state armed groups capture dams and barrages, and use them to flood or starve downstream populations. Dams are used to shelter high-value prisoners, while poisoning water harms local civilian populations. This is more evident in the Middle East countries now than ever.
From 2013 to 2017, Islamic State (known as ISIS/IS/ISIL or Daesh) carried out a number of attacks which used water either directly or indirectly. The clashes between ISIS and various governmental/ non-governmental forces also led to lakes, rivers and other water bodies in both countries being diverted or poisoned, making water a deliberate or incidental weapon in the war. The airstrikes conducted by the United States of America(US)-led international coalition, Russian Forces or Syrian Armed Forces also hit and damaged water infrastructure, water pipes and led to millions of people in both countries getting sporadic and limited access to water.
The decline of ISIS in 2017-2018 can be co-related to their loss of control over territories with important water infrastructure. ISIS was defeated from their de facto capitals, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, which were the locations of the Mosul Dam and the Tabqa Dam, the two big water infrastructures that ISIS had seized. The map on the next page shows the territories held by ISIS between January 2015(when they were at the height of their power),and January 2018.