The Marsh Arabs

Saddam was worried about people uprising against him after the US pulled out in 1991. He deliberately displaced thousands who were part of the Marsh Arab communities in Iraq by destroying villages with bombing and bulldozing as well as killing and imprisoning large numbers to prevent an uprising. In southern Iraq he drained the marshes that the communities relied upon in rural areas for their livelihoods.

The Hammar Marsh, one of the largest areas of marshland in Iraq, was severely damaged, turning much of the area into desert and having a devastating impact on the whole area. By draining the marshes, thousands of people were displaced and their traditional ways of life and environmental habitat were destroyed.

Consequently, after Saddam was removed from power, the Lower South saw the return of the tens of thousands of Marsh Arabs who had fled this persecution. An estimated 42,000 Marsh Arabs returned to the marshes in the aftermath of the invasion. Upon returning, there was a secondary displacement because of the badly managed re-flooding programmes which destroyed houses and settlements and further polluted farming land.