Iraq threatens to take Iran to ICJ over water rights middleeastmonitor.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from middleeastmonitor.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
July 29, 2021
Citizens in the capital of Iraq s Kurdistan Region, Erbil, are now buying water at prices exceeding $50 per tanker, as water has been cut off for more than two weeks in most areas of the Kurdish capital. The private water tankers carry between 3,000 and 4,500 liters (some 800 to 1,200 gallons) of water that is used for drinking and washing; it generally lasts less than a week per family.
A severe drinking water shortage hit Erbil over the last two weeks due to the region s drought. Erbil depends 65% on surface water coming from the Zab River and 35% on well water; the drought has affected both sources.
2021/02/21 22:10
Masrour Barzani (Right) Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, with Mahdi al-Hamdani, Iraq’s Minister of Water Resources. (Photo: KRG)
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Mahdi Rashid al-Hamdani discussed the construction of new dams in Iraq and the region during a meeting on Sunday.
Prime Minister Barzani received the Iraqi minister in Erbil, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
According to the statement, they discussed launching strategic projects, securing dam maintenance requirements, and constructing new dams in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
They also highlighted ways to enhance coordination between the federal and KRG ministries of water resources.
Iraqis suspect Turkey of eyeing the establishment of permanent military bases on their soil.
Tuesday 19/01/2021
A June 17, 2020 file picture shows the Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar looking at a map with members of the Turkish Armed Forces Command in Ankara during the military operation dubbed “Claw-Tiger.” (AP)
BAGHDAD – Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar began an official visit to Iraq on Monday that observers considered an extension of Turkey’s efforts to impose its security and military equation on Iraq.
This equation, which Ankara has already started implementing on the ground, is based on making Iraqi territories an advanced line of defence for Turkish security and a battleground for Turkey’s war against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants.
Wednesday 16/12/2020
Mahdi Rashid al-Hamdani, Iraq’s Minister of Water Resources, speaks in the capital Baghdad, last August. (AFP)
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is hoping to achieve a breakthrough on the issue of the water of the Tigris River, which has been the subject of chronic disagreement between Iraq and Turkey.
Analysts point to hardline stances taken by Ankara regarding this extremely vital issue for Iraqis.
Kadhimi’s efforts in this field focus on signing a special protocol with Ankara, relative to the water resources of the Tigris, which stipulates deploying field monitoring stations to measure flow rates, all the way downstream to the city of Basra in southern Iraq.