ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced Wednesday that his country will dispatch 450 soldiers to protect Iraq’s Mosul Dam installation.
The Italian prime minister told national TV, according to AFP that after “an Italian company” requested the dam be protected he intends to “send 450 of our men there to help protect it alongside the Americans.”
Renzi pointed out that the dam is situated in the middle “of a dangerous zone, on the border with ISIS. It is seriously damaged and risks collapse.”
There have long been fears that the dam would collapse and endanger the lives of millions of Iraqis due to its closeness to Islamic State (ISIS) territory and the dam’s deteriorating structure.
The director of the dam, Riyaz Izzadin, told Rudaw earlier this month that, “If it collapses, most of the city of Mosul will be flooded and up to half a million people could immediately be endangered.”
“The U.S. personnel are frequently visiting the dam and are well aware of the dangers, but they don’t want to say it to us openly,” he added.
According to AFP the Italian Trevi conglomerate has a $2 billion contract to shore-up the dam.
ISIS briefly occupied the dam in August 2014 before they were pushed back by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces backed by US air support.
The Italian prime minister told national TV, according to AFP that after “an Italian company” requested the dam be protected he intends to “send 450 of our men there to help protect it alongside the Americans.”
Renzi pointed out that the dam is situated in the middle “of a dangerous zone, on the border with ISIS. It is seriously damaged and risks collapse.”
There have long been fears that the dam would collapse and endanger the lives of millions of Iraqis due to its closeness to Islamic State (ISIS) territory and the dam’s deteriorating structure.
The director of the dam, Riyaz Izzadin, told Rudaw earlier this month that, “If it collapses, most of the city of Mosul will be flooded and up to half a million people could immediately be endangered.”
“The U.S. personnel are frequently visiting the dam and are well aware of the dangers, but they don’t want to say it to us openly,” he added.
According to AFP the Italian Trevi conglomerate has a $2 billion contract to shore-up the dam.
ISIS briefly occupied the dam in August 2014 before they were pushed back by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces backed by US air support.
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