Wadi Houran

This article is about the valley in Iraq. For the volcanic plateau in the south of Syria, see Hauran.

Wadi Houran or Wadi Houran (Arabic: وادي حوران‎‎) is the tallest Wadi in Iraq. Located in Al Anbar Governorate west of Iraq, it stretches for 350 kilometres (220 mi) from the Iraq-Saudi border to the Euphrates river near Haditha.

Often the term "Wadi Houran" is used to refer to the larger geographic area including Wadi Houran itself and surrounding hills, in addition to small wadis branching from it.

The valley is bounded by steep banks which in rainy seasons becomes a watercourse. Its depth varies between 150 and 200 metres (490 and 660 ft). Although Wadi Houran is a dry place, there are oases, called Hussaninyatt, located in the eastern part of the valley.

Houran barrage, Hussaninyatt barrage, and Ar Rutba barrage are three dams that had been constructed in Wadi Houran to collect rainwater for grazing sheep and camels during the summer. Basically Wadi Houran was a river in the past but it has dried after the end of the Last glacial period. The wadi offers a good pastures for the Bedouin and their cattle.

Flora and fauna

Wadi Houran serves as a good breeding ground for many wild animals such as hare, Rüppell's fox, gray wolf and goitered gazelle, while the surrounding cliffs of the wadi constitute a good breeding ground for resident birds and immigrants like the bustard, sandgrouse, saker falcon, and Egyptian vulture.

Flora in Wadi Houran include many desert and semi desert plants such as Artemisia, shrub, Astragalus Achillea, Acacia, and Alhagi.[1]

Ar-Rutbah

The main settlement in Wadi Houran is Ar-Rutbah (Arabic: الرطبة‎‎), an Iraqi town and seat of Ar-Rutba District. Its name means 'wet land' in Arabic because it can receive 114.3 mm of rain per year. Its total current population is 22,370 inhabitants, all of them Arabs and Sunnis. People earn their living by agriculture and small business.[2]

Security situation

Since 2003, Wadi Houran is an insurgent stronghold and among more dangerous areas in Iraq due to its location in the midst of the desert, away from any paved roads. Many clashes have taken place in the Wadi. The most serious attack to date occurred on 20 December 2013, resulted in the killing of 24 combatants, including the Commander of the 7th Division, Brigadier Mohamed al-Karawi, his assistant Brigadier Noman Mohamed, the Commander of Anbar Intelligence Body, eight army officers and 13 soldiers.[3]

On 22 June 2014, the town of Ar-Rutbah was attacked by ISIL militants, who came from Wadi Houran by 50 armed vehicles, and occupied the town after sporadic clashes with Iraqi Security Forces.[4]

Since June 2014, Wadi Houran has fallen under the complete control of ISIL.

References

  1. ↑ "Wadi Horan - Al Hussayniyah (AN4) - Nature Iraq - pdf.io". pdfooina.org. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  2. ↑ "GeoNames.org". www.geonames.org. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  3. ↑ Berwani, Hawar. "24 Iraqi military officers killed in Karawi bombing - Iraqi News". Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  4. ↑ Rubin, Alissa J. (2014-06-22). "Militants Take Major Border Post; Kerry Hints U.S. Is Open to a New Premier". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-07-14.

Coordinates: 33°58′52″N 42°33′23″E / 33.98111°N 42.55639°E / 33.98111; 42.55639

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