The marshlands of southern Iraq ecocide and genocide, the causes and impacts.

Al-Mukhtar, M.A.; Khalaf, T.A.

	The marshlands of southern Iraq ecocide and genocide, the causes and impacts.
Mesopotamian Journal of Marine Science
Article 1, Volume 20, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 213-232 PDF (0 K)
Authors
M.A. Al-Mukhtar; T.A. Khalaf
Abstract
The Bath regime conducted a wide programmed and organized engineering campaign to drain the Marshlands of Southern Iraq. By constructing a series of dams and canals, in order to prevent water to inflow to the marshes. This led to draining of more than 90 % of the marshes before the collapses of Saddam regime. The draining caused very big environmental and humanitarian damages that stormed hundreds of thousands of Marsh Arabs by destroying their life system, which continued for more than five thousands of years. The draining impacts on the marsh ecosystem were totally devastated catastrophic one. Many inhabited mammals and birds species extinct or threatened by extinction. The same is for many species of fish, especially the local and economical ones. The marshes had vanished as a winter shelter and as a place for gathering of inside and intercontinental immigration birds; this put forty species on the list of threatened red species. Some of the birds were forced to change their places to unsuitable ones. The reduction in the amounts of the water which inter Shatt Al-Arab led to drastic changes in its environment, and led changes in shore corrosion. The draining crisis was a genocide action led to annihilation of an original historical heritage, by killing of tens of thousands of Marsh Arabs. After the uprising of 1991 the attack become fiercer, this led to destroyed towns, villages, fields and domestic animals. Some times the internationally banned mass destruction weapons were also used. The people who remained alive had been forced to leave their home and to shift to another area, and for many times. They were under the pressure of annihilation; this made them to escape to towns and to become idle. They also spread in the camps as refugees in the neighboring countries; they reach the edge of extinction. Nevertheless these acts are listed among the genocide action.

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