The Guardian: Water becomes a weapon in Iraq war
Last week, following an interview for The Guardian, John Vidal published an article featuring my comments on water security and the current conflicts in Iraq and Syria. The article appeared in the print version of the newspaper on July 7, 2014.
The article was reproduced by a number of media sources in China, Venezuela, South Africa, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Norway. It was also shared by many international and governmental institutions, such as the US State Department, UNICEF, the University of Princeton, and Columbia.
Read the text of the original article here.
“Rebel forces are targeting water installations to cut off supplies to the largely Shia south of Iraq,” says Matthew Machowski, a Middle East security researcher at the UK houses of parliament and Queen Mary University of London.
“It is already being used as an instrument of war by all sides. One could claim that controlling water resources in Iraq is even more important than controlling the oil refineries, especially in summer. Control of the water supply is fundamentally important. Cut it off and you create great sanitation and health crises,” he said
Iraqis fled from Mosul after Isis cut off power and water and only returned when they were restored, says Machowski. “When they restored water supplies to Mosul, the Sunnis saw it as liberation. Control of water resources in the Mosul area is one reason why people returned,” said Machowski.
