Minister: powerful people with alleged ties to armed factions deprive Iraqis of water

Shafaq News/ Huge amounts of potable water are being usurped by powerful people who claim to have connections to paramilitary groups, Iraq's Minister of Water Resources Mahdi Rachid al-Hamdani said on Saturday.

Al-Hamdani's remarks came during a chat with reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of a floating water pump in al-Anbar's al-Tharthar district.

"It is crucial to shed light on encroachments that despite all the campaigns the ministry launches, continue to take place by powerful people who claim to have connections to paramilitary groups," he said, "it is a dangerous matter. Staff members were threatened and assaulted."

"We urge the security forces to back the ministry because the water issue is pivotal to the life and security of the Iraqi citizens," al-Hamdani continued, "water security is no less important than military security. The situation might grow worse if serious cooperation fails to materialize."

The minister said that some powerful people are exploiting the current political situation in the country to sustain and develop their encroachments.

"in Basra's al-Nashwa, powerful people with alleged ties to paramilitary groups have established 400 or 500 meters fish farms, depriving Basra of potable water," he explained.

On Friday, Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources said that members of its staff received threats for reporting encroachments on water resources in Basra