Marsh Arabs' ancient homeland to be restored to former glory Kim Gamel, David Randall Sunday 25 July 2004 00:00 BST 0 Comments ...

The Marsh Arabs got the full treatment. Once they had fought for Saddam in his grinding war against Iran, but after the revolt he accused them of joining a "dirty foreign conspiracy".

About a quarter-million Marsh Arabs lived in this fertile delta in the spring of 1991 and took part in a three-week uprising, which Saddam quickly quelled. Thousands were killed.

In the meantime, many Marsh Arabs have left for the towns and cities, where they are often treated as pariahs. Last year, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) called it an "exodus".

An Iraqi Marsh Arab woman paddles her boat at the Chebayesh marsh in Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad, February 15, 2013. The Marsh Arabs who had farmed this area for thousands ...

21 February 2005 -- Experts say wetlands that once sheltered Marsh Arabs and a host of wildlife in southern Iraq are being partly restored and could offer a haven once again if it is done right.

The United Nations says a study put the number of Marsh Arabs at 400,000 in the 1950s, but hundreds of thousands have since fled Saddam’s repression or become economic migrants.

The wetlands were drained as punishment after the Marsh Arabs gave sanctuary to rebels fighting the Saddam regime. About 250,000 Marsh Arabs now live in refugee camps and Iraqi cities. It is estimated ...