Death fields: Barbaric effects left by Daesh in Iraq
Sunday 16/December/2018 - 01:51 PM
Mohammed Al-Dabouli
It took it flesh and left it bones. This is how the situation in Iraq can be
characterized as the dust of the battles in Mosul and Sinjar has disappeared
and they are freed from the clutches of the Daesh organization. Over the past
years, the two cities have been very filled with life, well-being and
development.
The latest report by Amnesty International confirmed that the organization, in
the context of sabotage operations in northern Iraq, destroyed most of the
water wells and destroyed the agricultural infrastructure in the areas it
controlled, especially in the areas of the Yezidi minority.
Amnesty International's report, "The Dead Land: Daesh’s Deliberate
Destruction of Agricultural Land," states that Daesh deliberately
sabotaged agricultural infrastructure in northern Iraq, burning orchards,
stealing cattle, destroying tractors and agricultural plows, and finally
planting mines in agricultural fields to prevent farmers from returning to
their fields.
Torched land policy
Daesh’s sabotage of Iraqi agriculture was not part of the barbaric motives of
the organization's terrorists, but was part of a systematic policy aimed at
exporting pressure to the Iraqi government in the post-liberation phase of
Mosul.
Destroying water wells
The elements of the organization "dashed" water wells in Mosul and
Sinjar by dumping debris, petroleum materials and large stone blocks in the
wells, destroying water pumps and stealing generators. In the same context, the
water engineers of Amnesty International said that the elements of the
organization destroyed 400 wells out of 540wells in that area.
In addition to the well-being of the wells, Daesh called for the control of the
water wells in northern Iraq, such as the dam of Haditha, which amounted to
8.28 billion cubic meters, and the Tharthar Lake. The organization managed to
control the Mosul Dam, Iraqi water resources and exposed Iraqi agriculture to
pitfalls and danger. For example, with the closure of the Falluja dam, 200
square kilometers of agricultural fields have been destroyed.
Agricultural ruin
The destruction of water installations in Iraq has devastated Iraq's
agriculture. Iraqi agricultural production has fallen to less than 40% of the
pre-Daesh period in 2014, and only 20% of Iraqi farmers now have water resources.
In terms of livestock losses, some areas lost about 75% of their livestock,
while some areas lost about 95% of that important wealth.