8 killed in Mideast sandstorm

Beirut: A dense sandstorm engulfing parts of the Middle East left at least eight people dead and hundreds suffering from respiratory problems yesterday as officials warned residents to stay indoors.

Large parts of Lebanon Syria Israel and Cyprus were shrouded in a thick cloud of dust from the storm that began sweeping into the region on Monday. Refugees from Syria now living in basic conditions in Lebanon were badly affected.

In Syria at least six people died from respiratory failure a monitor said. “There were four (killed) in Deir Ezzor including a child and an elderly woman as well as another child in Hama province and a person in Daraa” said Rami Abdel Rahman head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Lebanon’s health ministry said two women had died at hospitals in the eastern Bekaa Valley region because of the storm. “The number of cases of choking and shortness of breath caused by the sandstorm has risen to 750” the ministry said. A thick haze hung over Jerusalem and much of Israel and the Palestinian Territories with officials warning the vulnerable to stay indoors.

The thick cloud also enveloped parts of the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus where residents were told to limit their time outdoors. The effects of the storm also reached Cairo where the skyline was obscured by a thick haze.

AFP