Syria: Target of Israeli strikes, Aleppo airport is canceled again

The target of a new Israeli strike, the airport of Aleppo in northern Syria, was released on Wednesday, March 22. According to the non-governmental organization, the target was a weapons warehouse belonging to pro-Iranian groups. According to the Syrian Ministry of Defense, the strike caused only material damage. “About 3:55 p.m. [heure locale ; 1 h 55, heure de Paris]Israel’s enemy launched an air strike using several missiles from the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting the Aleppo International Airport.“- said in the statement of the Ministry.

has an attack “Invited Airport Runways and Some Are Dysfunctional”Suleiman Khalil, the representative of the Ministry of Transport, said. Later, the Ministry stated that due to the damage to the runways and some facilities, “The airport has it[vait] Disabled until repairs are completed”. All flights were diverted to Damascus and Latakia airports. Aleppo Airport has been used in particular to deliver international humanitarian aid to Aleppo, which was hit hard by an earthquake that devastated several regions of Syria and neighboring Turkey on February 6.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), a UK-based NGO with an extensive network of sources in Syria, the attack was targeted. “Airport and arms depot near pro-Iranian groups”. This is a weapon “totally destroyed”– added the observatory. Groups controlled by Iran and its allies have a strong influence in Aleppo, where they helped government forces regain full control of the city in December 2016 alongside the Russian military.

Second strike in March at Aleppo airport

This is the second time in March that Aleppo airport has been targeted by Israel. According to OSDH, three people were killed in the raid on March 7 and the airport was put out of operation. According to the Ministry of Transport, after the earthquake that killed up to 6,000 people in Syria, more than 80 planes loaded with humanitarian aid landed at this airport.

According to official sources, Aleppo airport, the country’s second busiest airport, had already been closed for three days since the Israeli strike in September. According to the OSDH, in early January, the airport of Damascus, the capital, was also targeted. “The Positions of Hezbollah and Pro-Iranian Groups”. Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria over the past few years, targeting regime positions as well as Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces, allies of Damascus and sworn enemies of Israel.

The Israeli army announced on Wednesday a new strike on Aleppo airport “I will not comment on foreign media information”. Israel, Syria’s neighbor, rarely comments on these actions on a case-by-case basis, but says it wants to prevent Iran from establishing itself on its doorstep. As a result of the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations, the war in Syria has claimed an estimated 500,000 lives, destroyed the country’s infrastructure and displaced millions.