30/11/2012 12:28
Flights canceled in Syria
As the News 24 reports, the Syrian government shut down the internet across the country and cut cellphone services in select areas Thursday as rebels and government troops waged fierce battles near the capital's airport, forcing international airlines to suspend flights, activists said.
The Internet blackout, confirmed by two US-based companies that monitor online connectivity, is unprecedented in Syria's 20-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad. Regime forces have suffered a string of tactical defeats in recent weeks - losing air bases and other strategic facilities - and the blackout may be an attempt by the government dull any further rebel offensives by hampering communications.
Authorities often cut phone lines and internet access in select areas where regime forces are conducting major military operations to disrupt rebel communications.