One year after Iraq declared military victory over the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) our report finds that IS’s deliberate destruction of Iraq’s rural environment continues to have debilitating effects on poor, small-holder farmers. The research focuses on the area around Sinjar, scene to some of the most extensive destruction. Irrigation wells were often sabotaged with rubble, oil, or other foreign objects, and pumps, cables, generators and transformers stolen or destroyed. Efforts to hold IS responsible under international law should include these specific crimes. Meanwhile, Iraq’s government should provide farmers and former farmers with urgent assistance to recommence their livelihoods.
