Northern Africa

A water station in Bir al-Abd town is attacked. No one is reported injured or killed. The attackers claim that the water station was built on their lands.

Heavy shelling and airstrikes between April and June of 2019 destroy water infrastructure in Tripoli, Libya.

Militias cut off water supplies to Tripoli for several days in continuing unrest in the country.

When Moses and the retreating Jews find themselves trapped between the Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, Moses miraculously parts the waters of the Red Sea, allowing his followers to escape. The waters close behind them and cut off the Egyptians.

Long standing tensions over the Nile, especially the Blue Nile, originate in Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s proposed construction of dams on the headwaters of the Blue Nile leads Egypt to repeatedly declare the vital importance of water. “The only matter that could take Egypt to war again is water’ (Anwar Sadat, 1979). “The next war in our region will be over the waters of the Nile, not politics” (Boutros Boutrous-Ghali, 1988).

Farmers from the Abu Simbel region in Egypt hold over 200 tourists hostage to protest inadequate irrigation water. The farmers capture the tourists after they visit nearby monuments, but release them after officials agree to a temporary release of water.

The water supply serving Tripoli, Libya’s capital city, is cut off by gunmen that force employees managing the system to turn off the flow of water. The war is between Libya’s National Army and UN-backed forces and has been ongoing since 2014.

A woman was killed in a dispute over the price of water in El Gedaref, Sudan. This violent clash triggers more fighting between familial groups, leading to at least eight more deaths and dozens of injuries.

NATO forces attack on a factory that produces pipes for the “Great Man-Made River” water supply pipeline near Brega, reporting that it was used as a base for military operations and the launching of missiles.

The Arab-Fur War (1987-1989) between the Arab and Fur ethnic groups in Libya, is triggered in part by severe drought that strains farmer-herder relationships. Libyan leader Gaddafi sends drought relief supplies and weaponry to opposing sides.