Afghan Dam Reopened to Let Water Flow to Iran - 2002-10-16

News reports in Iran say Afghanistan has reopened a dam to let water flow into Iran's parched eastern provinces.

The Farsi-language daily "Iran" today (Tuesday) quotes Iranian officials as saying Afghanistan has released a certain volume of water from its Kajaki dam bound for Lake Hamoun in Iran. The dam was shut three years ago by the Taleban, in violation of a 1973 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.

Villages in Sistan and Baluchestan provinces have been badly affected by the dam closure. Resulting sandstorms have devastated more than 120 villages in the provinces, killing livestock and drying out thousands of hectares of farmland.