Conflicts & War

Quake aid flights diverted after strike on Aleppo airport, says Syria

Beirut, Mar 7 (EFE).- Syria has rerouted flights transporting earthquake relief material after Aleppo’s airport was put out of commission by a missile attack that the war-torn country has blamed on Israel, the Syrian transport ministry said on Tuesday.

“Following the Israeli aggression that targeted Aleppo International Airport (…) it was decided to divert the landing of humanitarian relief aid planes for those affected by the earthquake, and the scheduled and programmed flights through Aleppo International Airport to go through the airports of Damascus and Latakia,” a statement by the ministry said.

Syrian authorities said efforts were underway to determine the extent of material damage and repair the infrastructure impacted by the overnight air raid on the airport.

Syria’s northwestern province of Aleppo was one of the areas hardest hit by the February 6 earthquakes of 7.8 and 7.5 magnitudes. The airport there is the main facility to receive humanitarian aid supplied by the international community.

SANA, the country’s state news agency, said the attack came as Aleppo has been grappling with devastating conditions due to the powerful quakes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been documenting violence in Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011 through a wide network of sources inside the country, confirmed the attack took place.

This was the second attack on the airport after the one reported in September, the United Kingdom-based watchdog said.

The Israeli military has not commented on the incident yet.

Israel often bombs targets linked to archrival Iran and the Hezbollah militant group in neighboring Syria in an effort to prevent them from expanding their influence there.EFE

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