Uprooted trees lie along Najaf’s Green Belt Road after more than 200 mature trees were cut and replaced with small saplings. Photo by 964media.
Outcry in Najaf over removal of more than 200 trees on Green Belt Road
NAJAF — The late-night cutting of more than 200 mature trees along Green Belt Road has triggered widespread anger in Najaf, with residents accusing authorities and investors of destroying part of the city’s landscape and replacing it with low-cost saplings that experts say may not survive without major soil remediation.
Residents said the removal happened without notice and continued into the early hours. Najaf resident Saeed Al-Kurrawi told 964media that “what happened last night and until this moment is painful and dangerous at the same time. More than 200 mature trees were cut in cold blood, without any presence or follow-up from responsible authorities.” He said no one from the municipality, governorate or police responded to calls. “It is said these trees are ‘old’ and 25 years old and must be replaced, and this is a strange justification. In developed countries they change the route of trains for a single tree, while in Najaf more than 200 trees are cut at once.”
Al-Kurrawi said residents had cared for the trees for years and described their removal as a loss for the city. “These trees are not just plants, they are part of the identity of the city and its green lungs,” he said. He also questioned the decision to replace them with small saplings, saying they “do not compensate for what was lost.”
Environmental expert Haider Al-Khattab said residents and specialists were not consulted before the work began. “What happened occurred suddenly without consulting any technical entity,” he said. He warned that the planted saplings may not survive unless the soil is replaced. “The soil in this area is full of construction debris and unsuitable for new planting,” he said, adding that without remediation “the saplings will be damaged or die, as happened previously.”
Najaf Governor Youssef Kanawi said on social media that the investor received approvals to remove the “carob” trees because they were “harmful and deteriorated” and that new long-lived trees would be planted and maintained to improve the urban environment.
Municipality director Karrar Abdulhamza Mowash rejected that claim. He said, “Two months ago they came to the municipality and wanted approval to remove these trees, and we did not agree and rejected it. We told them these trees are 20 years old and we did not approve at all. They make approvals behind the scenes without our knowledge.” He said the municipality “will take strict action,” form an investigative committee and “punish everyone involved in this issue.”
Mowash later inspected the site. In a video posted on the municipality’s Facebook page, he appeared visibly angry as he questioned those present about why the work was done “at 1:00 a.m.” and said it had been carried out without coordination with the municipality.