Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Kurdish PMMasrour Barzani criticized unnamed parties for using Erbil's long-standing summerwater shortage as “a tool to fuel political conflicts” in the Kurdistan Region(KRI).
Speaking at a ceremony to lay thefoundation stone for the Erbil Emergency Water Supply Project, Barzaniexpressed regret that “the decades-old crisis had been turned into a propagandacampaign by some groups.”
“The problem cannot be resolved bytankers, as these parties have attempted.”
He further assured the public that “thenew project, once completed, would address Erbil’s water needs for the next 30years.”
Notably, The KRI is facing a growingwater crisis, driven by a combination of climate change, inefficient waterinfrastructure, and geopolitical challenges. Recurrent droughts and changingrainfall patterns have affected water availability, impacting agriculture andlivelihoods in the Region. KRI’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture makes itparticularly susceptible to these environmental changes. Additionally, the Region’s locationalong the Tigris-Euphrates Basin inevitably places it at the center ofpolitical conflicts involving Turkiye, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.