Iraq temporarily suspends flights with Lebanese capital after Assad’s fall in Syria

A passenger plane takes off from the Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon on June 23, 2024. [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]

Iraq suspended flights with the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, Anadolu news agency reported.

In a statement, the Iraqi Transport Ministry said the flights between Baghdad and Beirut were suspended temporarily to safeguard the well-being of travellers.

The decision also includes humanitarian flights for Lebanese citizens wishing to return to their country, the ministry said.

Assad fled Syria to an unknown location after anti-regime groups took control of the capital Damascus early Sunday, marking the collapse of the Baath Party regime, which had been in power in Syria since 1963.

It came almost a week after anti-regime groups seized control of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

READ: Syria’s 61-year Baath regime collapses

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