The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Power outages plague Syria after gas pipeline explosion

An explosion at a natural gas pipeline near Damascus has led to massive power cuts across Syria, the government said on Monday, blaming the blast on terrorists.

A blast hit the gas pipeline around midnight, which would have been around 2100 GMT, in the area between al-Dumayr and Adra districts, near Damascus, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

Minister of Electricity Mohammed Kharboutli said the blast affected the gas pressure at the Deir Ali station power station, leading other stations to stop functioning and causing a power outage nationwide.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hussein Arnous said while touring the site that repair work “is proceeding at a rapid pace.”

He added that by evening, the line will be fully operational and will be pumping gas to Deir Ali station.

He accused the Syrian opposition of carrying out the attack, and said it coincided with intra-Syrian talks on a new constitution which started earlier in the United Nations in Geneva, after a nine-month pause due to disagreement over the agenda and travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This explosion coincided with the start of the constitutional committee meetings. On this day, the terrorists wanted to use their language… the language of sabotage,” Arnous said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion has caused a massive fire.

A witness said the explosion was seen by almost all residents of Damascus.

Oil Minister Ali Ghanem said crews are working on supplying other power stations with gas, and gradually bringing back power.

The blast was “a terrorist act,” Ghanem said.

The Observatory said it is not clear who was behind the attack. In the past, the Islamic State extremist group has claimed responsibility for similar attacks.

Attacks on gas pipelines in areas controlled by the government have been frequent since the 2011 uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

Source: Power outages plague Syria after gas pipeline explosion | dpa International