Attacks by Islamic militants on utilities cut water supply to Timbuktu, Mali. There are also reports that Malian forces carried out executions in the conflict area near the towns of Sevare, Mopti, and Niono with bodies being dumped in water wells.
Violence breaks out in the town of Yopal, Colombia, which has been without water for nearly two years following the destruction of a water treatment plant by a landslide. Demonstrations at government offices and offices of the water company lead to injuries and arrests.
Hundreds of farmers in the town of Varzaneh, in Iran’s Isfahan province, clash with police during a protest against the government’s decision to divert water from the area to another province. Iranian media say farmers smash a pipeline carrying water from Zayanderud river to neighboring Yazd province in an effort to prevent the water transfer. Dozens are reported injured and more arrested.
An acute water shortage in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India leads to fights among locals and one death. The government expresses concern about large-scale public unrest due to a severe drought and major water shortages.
The dwindling water supply from shared mountain springs leads to growing violence between Marzouh and Qaradh, Yemen. At least six deaths occur and many more are wounded in clashes since 2000. “Wherever in Yemen you see aquifers depleting, you have the worst conflicts,” said Abdul Rahman al-Eryani, former minister for water and environment, Yemen.
Hundreds of Uyghurs are arrested following an attack on May 20th that led to the death of seven Han Chinese workers building a dam on the Karakash River in Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian) prefecture’s Karakash (Moyu) county, China. Local officials ascribe the violence to land and water disputes and cultural differences between Han immigrants [to Xinjiang] and Uyghurs.
In less than a week, several water projects are the targets of explosives, killing six employees of one of the water projects and damaging the infrastructure in Al-Shirqat District, Saladin Governorate, and Mushirfah, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq.
In Iraq, Islamic State blocks access to water in the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh (also known as Bakhdida), take over farms and agricultural land, and expel most of the 50,000 residents.
At least two people die from a blast at a water purification plant in the city of Fallujah, in Al Anbar Province. More than 20 people are hospitalized from chlorine poisoning from the destruction of a water-purification chemical storage facility.
Two schools and a solar-powered tube well are destroyed in a blast attributed to militants in the Mohmand Agency. No injuries are reported.