UAE carrier flydubai suspends flights to Sri Lanka

The airline confirmed it would refund passengers who had booked their tickets on the cancelled flights to Colombo, Sri Lanka. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 11 July 2022
Follow

UAE carrier flydubai suspends flights to Sri Lanka

DUBAI: UAE carrier flydubai suspended operations to Colombo in Sri Lanka until further notice amid political unrest, a company spokesperson told Arab News in a statement on Monday.

“Flydubai flights between Dubai and Colombo Airport (CMB) have been suspended from 10 July until further notice,” the spokesperson said.

“We will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka.”

The airline confirmed it would refund passengers who had booked their tickets on the cancelled flights.

Demonstrations in Sri Lanka reached new heights on Saturday as thousands of protestors stormed the Presidential Palace, prompting the resignations of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.


Syrian government says it controls prison in Raqqa with Daesh-linked detainees

Updated 43 min 23 sec ago
Follow

Syrian government says it controls prison in Raqqa with Daesh-linked detainees

  • Prison holds detainees linked to Daesh, and witnessed ⁠clashes in its vicinity between advancing Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters

Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Friday it had taken over Al-Aktan prison in the city of Raqqa ​in northeastern Syria, a facility that was formerly under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The prison has been holding detainees linked to the militant group Daesh, and witnessed clashes in its vicinity this week between advancing Syrian government forces and the SDF.

It ‌was not ‌immediately clear how many ‌Daesh ⁠detainees ​remain in Al-Aktan ‌prison as the US military has started transferring up to 7,000 prisoners linked to the militant Islamist group from Syrian jails to neighboring Iraq. US officials say the detainees are citizens of many countries, including in Europe.

“Specialized teams were ⁠formed from the counter-terrorism department and other relevant authorities to ‌take over the tasks of guarding ‍and securing the prison ‍and controlling the security situation inside it,” ‍the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Under a sweeping integration deal agreed on Sunday, responsibility for prisons housing Daesh detainees was meant to be transferred to ​the Syrian government.

The SDF said on Monday it was battling Syrian government forces near ⁠Al-Aktan and that the seizure of the prison by the government forces “could have serious security repercussions that threaten stability and pave the way for a return to chaos and terrorism.”

The US transfer of Daesh prisoners follows the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria. Concerns over prison security intensified after the escape on Tuesday of roughly 200 low-level Daesh fighters from Syria’s ‌Shaddadi prison. Syrian government forces later recaptured many of them.