Saturday, November 03, 2018

Now, in Iraq, the fish are in danger

In Iraq, the sorrows never end.  While the water in Basra has made many people sick (well over 100,000 have required hospitalization), fish are also dying in the river.






Salman Ameen (AFP) reports:

And in the fish farms of Saddat Al-Hindiyah in Babylon province, about 80 km south of Baghdad, the lifeless carp floated together in small clumps.

Farmer Hussein Faraj frantically scooped dead fish out of his enclosure in a red plastic crate, fearing they were poisoned.

“Some are saying it’s because of a sickness, others say it’s because of chemicals,” said Faraj, his thick black hair standing on end and his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“We’re waiting for a solution from the government or a test of the water — we’re scared the water will poison us in the coming days, too.”



Meanwhile, US forces remain in Iraq.  And a number have set up in Anbar -- the province where more Americans have died in this ongoing war than any other area of Iraq.  Tom Westcott (MIDDLE EAST EYE) reports:


On the ground, however, a senior source in Iraq's Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) forces told Middle East Eye that coalition forces - mainly American, French and Canadian - were based in three adjacent military bases occupying an approximately four-square-kilometre area near the Anbar town of al-Baghdadi, 150km from the border, along with other operational bases closer to al-Qaim.
"Al-Baghdadi is now one of the biggest US military bases in Iraq," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It is three bases in one area heavily guarded by the Iraqi Army, and no other Iraqi forces can get near there."



That's it, I'm in the middle of Robert Gildea's EMPIRES OF THE MIND and I want to finish it tonight.  The following community sites updated: