New Water Dam Projects in Iraq Pose Threats to Indigenous Assyrian Archaeological Sites and Settlements
Several new water infrastructure projects in northern Iraq are raising concerns about potential threats to Indigenous Assyrian sites, such as the Sennacherib Archaeological Park, as well as to nearby villages in the region. This is especially relevant for those sites located in the Nahla Valley.
According to a 2020 report by Save The Tigris, the Bakrman Dam is being built in Duhok on the Khazir River, a tributary of the Greater Zab, and will store approximately 205 million cubic meters of water. The Khanas Dam, on the other hand, will be located on the Gomel River in the Shekhan District of Nineveh and will store 4.7 million cubic meters of water.
Dams also cause population displacement and the loss of prime agricultural lands that are submerged under dam reservoirs. The region contains many examples of dam failure. There is little or no debate inside the KRG about the destructive impacts of its proposed dams on free-flowing rivers, biodiversity, water quality, cultural heritage, livelihoods and homes of populations, and the water security of downstream Federal Iraq.
— Save The Tigris
There are growing fears that these projects will not only uproot Assyrians from their native lands but also dispossess them of their ancestral homes, severing their deep cultural and historical connection to these lands. The forced displacement would cripple their material heritage, as these archaeological sites and settlements have been integral to the Assyrian cultural identity for generations.
Khanas Dam site contains a range of archaeological sites, and some Assyrian villages which would be submerged by the reservoir.
— Save The Tigris
Further, any semblance of autonomy that Assyrian communities currently enjoy would be severely disrupted. As their lands are submerged or rendered uninhabitable, many Assyrians will be forced to migrate to urban centres, further eroding their traditional ways of life and weakening their social cohesion.
Resources:
Damming the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Structural Gaps in the KRG Dam Construction Policies, Save The Tigris, accessed 6 October 2024,<https://www.savethetigris.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Damming-the-Kurdistan-Region-of-Iraq-1.pdf>.
Nala Festival organizers condemn Iraqi Government’s plan to displace Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian villages for dam project, Syriac Press, 23 September 2024, accessed 6 October 2024,<https://syriacpress.com/blog/2024/09/23/nala-festival-organizers-condemn-iraqi-governments-plan-to-displace-chaldean-syriac-assyrian-villages-for-dam-project/>.
Kurdistan Region to build three new dams, GOV.KRD, 26 Apr 2023, accessed 6 October 2024,<https://gov.krd/dmi-en/activities/news-and-press-releases/2023/april/kurdistan-region-to-build-three-new-dams/>.
Notes:
According to Save The Tigris, the Bakrman Dam was designed in 2006 by El Concorde, a construction company based in Amman, Jordan. The Khanas Dam, on the other hand, was designed by the Jordanian-based Consolidated Consultants Group (CCG).
In September 2024, the Kurdish news outlet Hawar News Agency reported that a Turkish military operation conducted an airstrike near the Bakrman Dam. Details regarding the extent of the damage remain unavailable.
