Bled dry – How war in the Middle East is bringing the region’s water supplies to breaking point. An ICRC report.

Even without recent droughts and ongoing conflicts, many Middle Eastern states would be struggling to meet the basic water needs of growing urban populations and demand from rising food production.

But the conflicts in Syria and in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as the aftermath of conflict in Lebanon and nearly three decades of war and sanctions in Iraq, have helped push the region’s water resources and delivery systems close to breaking point, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Throughout the Middle East people are suffering from severe water shortages, which not only hinders agricultural production but also places limitations on domestic supply. The rising violence of the past few years and record-low rainfall have made access to an adequate quantity and quality of water increasingly difficult. In Syria for instance, the combined effects of a protracted conflict and consecutive drought years have hit many people very hard.