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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Russia pounds Daesh as manoeuvres force flight rerouting |
| 2015-11-22 |
| Russia has bombed the Daesh group in the heaviest strikes in eastern Syria since the war began, as Moscow's military manoeuvres in the Mediterranean forced Lebanon to reroute flights. Russian and Syrian warplanes carried out at least 70 strikes in eastern Deir Ezzor province on Friday, killing at least 36 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Britain-based group said the raids hit several cities and towns in the province, as well as three oilfields, and were the heaviest bombardment of the region since the conflict began in March 2011. Most of Deir Ezzor province, including large parts of its capital, is held by Daesh. The regime still holds the military airport and several smaller areas. According to the Observatory, Russia's strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since they began, a third of them civilians. The group says 381 Daesh fighters have been killed in the strikes, along with 547 rebels from other groups including Al Qaeda affiliate Al Nusra Front. It said 403 civilians had been killed, including 97 children. On Saturday, flights in and out of Lebanon were being forced to take longer routes, with some airlines cancelling services, after Moscow requested flights avoid a portion of airspace over the Mediterranean, a Lebanese minister said. Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Zeaiter said Moscow requested "that planes leaving Beirut airport towards the west avoid overflying an area in Mediterranean territorial waters because of manoeuvres on Saturday, Sunday and Monday." There was no confirmation from Moscow of the request, but a Lebanese airport official later said that departing flights would be directed to first fly south over Sidon and Sarafand to "keep them away from the perimeter of the manoeuvres." Lebanon's national carrier Middle East Airlines acknowledged the rerouting in a statement, saying its flights would be mostly on time but "some flights to the Gulf and the Middle East region might take (a) longer time due to a slight change in airways." Kuwait Airways said it was suspending its Beirut flights "as a precautionary measure" but most other flights were arriving and leaving normally. Turkey's Dogan news agency said two Turkish Airlines services to Beirut on Friday night were cancelled for "security reasons" due to the Russian request, but its Saturday flights were operating regularly. |
| Posted by:Steve White |