![]() Iraq is highly dependent on water resources originating beyond its borders. "They built a new dam to cut the water and keep it for themselves."Īlqod Mahmoud says he doesn't know how long villagers suffering from drought will be able to hang on in Topkhana But Mahmoud points the blame squarely at a more tangible culprit. What remains of the river runs too far from the village, and too low, to water its fields.Ĭlimate change, driving rising temperatures and irregular rainfall in the region, is a factor. Now, the pipe hangs uselessly over a bed of dry gravel. Three years ago, Mahmoud, who, at 33 years old, is Topkhana's mukhtar, or village leader, invested $1,700 in a new pump to bring water from the Diyala to irrigate his fields. But, in Mahmoud's village of Topkhana, which depends on the Diyala to water its crops, locals say the situation has never been as bad as this year. The rainy season in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) usually lasts less than three months of the year. Diyala means "shouting river" in Kurdish. Alqod Mahmoud stands on the bank of the Diyala River, staring helplessly into the stagnant pond where deep waters once swelled.
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