Omar Sattar, Al-Monitor, 5 April 2019 BAGHDAD — Although water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers have been rising as torrential rains fill some of the largest dams in Iraq, the threat of drought persists. Turkey is now taking the necessary steps to fill its controversial Ilisu Dam, while Iran continues to cut off tributaries of the rivers flowing...
Arabic | عربي With this letter, the members and allies of the European Water Movement express their support and solidarity to the people organizing the Mesopotamian Water Forum, a civil society forum on the alternative management of Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries in Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran that will take place between...
عربي | Arabic Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, 3 April 2019 The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, historic lifelines of Mesopotamia, stretch across the states of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. In past decades these rivers have faced environmental degradation and politicization through large dams, river diversions and unsustainable management at the expense of the peoples...
عربي | Arabic Al-Monitor Saad Salloum BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government and the United Nations are working together to establish a museum documenting Islamic State (IS) atrocities against the Yazidi religious minority in Sinjar. The idea stemmed from a 2018 visit by representatives of UNESCO and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq to the village of Kocho in the Sinjar district of Ninevah province. Residents...
Arabic | عربي Al-Monitor Written by Saad Salloum KARBALA, Iraq — A high-ranking Shiite cleric delegation from Najaf visited the holy Yazidi temple in Lalish northern Iraq on March 17. Yazidis witnessed a horrible genocide by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The visit is a part of a campaign carried out by Shiite clerics to gather...
Arabic | عربي From 6-8 April 2019 the 1st Mesopotamian Water Forum will take place at the University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A unique space for open and public dialogue about the status and access of bodies of water in the Mesopotamia. This event will be an important opportunity to promote a...
Marta Bellingreri – AlMonitor Walking toward the Ziggurat of Ur, a massive Sumerian temple dedicated to the moon god Nannar, tourists often can’t help but express their awe. Representative of their excitement is one visitor who remarked, “It’s incredible! I studied it when I was at the primary school! My heart is beating like a drum!” Ali Zughair, a professor...
Arabic | عربي Al-Monitor Omar al-Jaffal Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Baghdad March 11 to endorse the two countries’ renewed commitment to the 1975 Algiers Agreement regarding the shared border of the Shatt al-Arab River. The agreement has sat idle for decades, as Iraq has attempted to evade what it sees as unfair terms. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi...
Arabic | عربي Taif Sabah Alwachi \ Baghdad Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative Welcome dear audience at the annual 8th conference of the Iraq civil society solidarity initiative. First of all, on behalf of my colleagues in the initiative, and on behalf of all of you, I would like to thank the Association of Iraqi...
From 6-8 April 2019 the 1st Mesopotamian Water Forum will take place at the University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A unique space for open and public dialogue about the status and access of bodies of water in the Mesopotamia. This event will be an important opportunity to promote a society-wide coalition for...
Arabic | عربي Terry Kay Rockefeller Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative Conference For the first time in our ten-year history, the ICSSI meets in Baghdad—how wonderful! The first time I was in Baghdad was almost exactly 16 years ago. I came with other Americans who hoped that if we went home and told the stories...
Arabic | عربي On 14 February, under the name “Diwaniyah Festival for Love and Peace,” the Diwaniyah Environment and Peace Forum held its second annual festival to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the people of Diwaniyah. The festival was held in the gardens of Al Hurriya Family Park, where the festival included artistic and musical events,...
