Water Is Being Used As A Weapon In The Wars of The Middle East

There’s a lack of respect among warring sides for the protected status of water, according to the Red Cross. Osman Orsal/Reuters

Lucy Westcott, Newsweek: Water Being Used as a Weapon in the Middle East, Red Cross Warns

Water supplies are being targeted by fighters in Syria and Iraq and water systems in the Middle East are approaching breaking point due to conflicts there, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) warned in a report released on Wednesday.

Aging water systems, rising demand for food and growing populations were already putting Middle Eastern and Gulf water supplies at great risk. Add to that the fighting in Syria and the violence being wrought by ISIS militants, which has caused millions to uproot, and the region faces a critical situation.

“Using access to water as a tactic or weapon during conflict, or targeting water or energy facilities, not only violates the laws of armed conflict, it has very harmful effects on the lives of people whose health is already extremely vulnerable,” Robert Mardini, ICRC’s head of operations for the Middle East, said in a statement on Wednesday.

WNU Editor: Predictions on the use of water as a weapon (or being the cause of wars) has been around for a very long time. As for the Middle East .... many have been predicting a breaking point was just around the corner .... Can The Middle East Avoid Future Water Wars? .... and it now looks like that point has not only been reached, but to be used as a weapon against those on the other side.