This water diversion plan, which was accompanied by a series of propaganda articles by the dictator directed against the Mash Arabs, converted the wetlands into a desert. This forced the residents out of their settlements which they had lived on for millennia.
The western Hammar Marshes and the Central Marshes became completely desiccated, while the eastern Hawizeh Marshes were dramatically reduced. Furthermore, villages were burned down, water was deliberately poisoned, and vehicles were attacked by government helicopters. Several thousand Marsh Arabs were killed.
The majority were displaced to areas adjacent to the drained marshes. They were forced to take up conventional agriculture, or to life in camps in other parts of Iraq. An estimated 80,000 to 130,000 fled over the border to Iran.
The Marsh Arabs, who at their height numbered about half a million, have now dwindled to as few as 20,000 in Iraq. Only 1,600 of them were estimated to still be living in traditional villages by 2003.