Page 14 - DMEA Week 34

DMEA POLICY DMEA

Syria plunged into darkness after

gas pipeline explosion

SYRIA SYRIA suffered a nationwide blackout in the suffered a major blackout in 2013 when the pipe-
early hours of August 24, after a pipeline explo- line was shelled by rebel forces.
Attacks on Syrian oil sion which authorities have said was a terrorist The latest explosion came just hours before
and gas infrastructure attack. representatives of the Syrian government,
have been The explosion occurred between the towns the opposition and civil society sat down for
commonplace in recent of Adra and Dumair near Damascus at the Arab UN-sponsored talks in Geneva. They are dis-
years. gas pipeline, which supplies gas from Egypt to cussing a possible new constitution which the
Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. No deaths or inju- UN says could be a “door opener” to a final
ries have been reported. But gas supplies to resolution to the war. The conflict has killed
three power stations in the country’s south were over 400,000 people, displaced millions and
affected. inflicted severe damage to the country’s energy
According to state television network Ikh- infrastructure.
bariya, the resulting blaze was extinguished in The peace process has made little headway
the morning. Authorities are preparing to repair this year as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-
the damage and are working steadily to restore 19) pandemic. But there are hopes that the new
normal electricity supplies. Supplies were soon round of talks could get the process back on
restored to key facilities in Damascus such as track. Representatives of regional and world
hospitals, Syrian Electricity Minister Moham- powers including Iran, Russia, Turkey and the
mad Kharboutli said hours after the incident. US are also understood to be present at the
Syrian Petroleum Minister Ali Ghanem said negotiations.
the blast was the result of a terrorist attack. Attacks on Syrian oil and gas infrastructure
“After an assessment of the situation, it was have been commonplace in recent years, and
determined that the explosion that took place on often no one has claimed responsibility. ISIS lost
the gas pipeline ... had been caused by a terrorist their remaining territory in Syria last year, but
attack,” he said, according to Ikhbariya. the group’s militants continue to launch assaults
As of press time, no group has claimed against both government and opposition forces
responsibility for the attack. However, Washing- in the country.
ton has said ISIS was likely the perpetrator. Militants targeted Syria’s Banias oil refinery
“We are still looking into that. But it was on the Mediterranean coast in January, with
almost certainly a strike by ISIS,” the US envoy divers planting explosions on the plant’s under-
to Syria, James Jeffrey, told reporters. water pipelines. In December, rockets were
This is the sixth time that the Arab gas pipe- also fired against the country’s main refinery in
line has been hit in Syria since the country’s Homs, causing limited damage but disrupting
devastating civil war began in 2011. The country production. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 27•August•2020