Expert holds Saddam Hussein responsibility if a dam collapses in Iraq

in its current location but he insisted on it to hit the armed movement in Kurdistan at that time.

Mosul Dam is located 50 km north of Mosul city, by Italian –German joint company in 1986 on Tigris River , which is estimated to be constructed about 80 years ago , of a length of 3.2 kilometers and a height of 131 meters , it is the largest dam in Iraq and the fourth largest dam in the Middle East .

The expert who is an Iraqi senior engineer and requested anonymity told “Shafaq News “that " in the early eighties of the last century, the Iraqi regime decided to build the dam in its place now."

He added, that Russian experts have been bought to take a look and to examine on the chosen place by the leadership at the time, including soil tests .

He pointed out that Russian experts presented their report , which summarizes that the ground is not suitable for the construction of the dam and it should be built elsewhere , adding that Russian experts revealed that the inner shell to the ground of the dam consists of gypsum stones, and the latter will be eroded by moisture , water, and thus may cause serious damage to the body of the dam .

He added , that Saddam Hussein insisted on the construction of the dam in the current place and invited Russian experts to provide technical solutions on condition not to transfer of the construction site of the dam.

Russian experts have advised the Iraqi party to carry out the filling , which is pumping cement liquid to the earth under the body of the dam and in the regions surrounding it as long as the dam is there , pointing out that this cost was expensive, but the Iraqi regime agreed to it despite the high cost of groutingacts,” he said.

On the reason of the insistence of the Iraqi regime to build a dam in its current location, the source said that the system wanted to make natural obstacle in front of the movement of Peshmerga rebels and obstruct supplies to them , thus the formation of a lake will be cut off to some extent , the map of Bahdinan area which had been ignited always by revolutions and anti movements of former IraqiSystems.

He explained that if the dam collapsed at any time, the regime of Saddam Hussein took full responsibility, because he was not aware from the validity of the soil, but insisted on the establishment of the dam in the current location for political reasons .

The problem of Mosul Dam began following the completion of its establishment in 1986, when operations to strengthen the foundations had been initiated across the grouting by injecting it by concrete on a daily basis because of the erosion of the ground which created it, which is considered not valid for the construction of dams on them, the grouting process enabled to maintain the body of the dam and facilitated the attached institutions to it until now .