Syria: Quake Aid Flights Re-routed after Strike on Aleppo Airport

An airplane carrying aid after the devastating quakes in Syria. Reuters
An airplane carrying aid after the devastating quakes in Syria. Reuters
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Syria: Quake Aid Flights Re-routed after Strike on Aleppo Airport

An airplane carrying aid after the devastating quakes in Syria. Reuters
An airplane carrying aid after the devastating quakes in Syria. Reuters

Syria's transport ministry said on Tuesday it would re-route flights carrying earthquake aid following an overnight aerial attack that put the airport in the northern city of Aleppo out of commission.

It said flights would now land in either the capital Damascus or the coastal province of Latakia.

Dozens of planes carrying aid from the Middle East, Europe and further afield have landed in Syria following the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Syrian state media said Israeli warplanes carried out the attack on Aleppo International Airport while flying over the Mediterranean Sea. The Israeli military declined to comment.

Syria said the strike “caused material damage to the airport and put it out of service."



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.