Beirut, May 16, (dpa/GNA) – Heavy sandstorms have once again blanketed the Iraqi capital Baghdad in an orange haze, and have claimed several lives in neighbouring Syria, activists said Monday.
Seven people were killed in eastern Syria, including two children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday.
The strong winds uprooted trees and caused power outages in the province of Deir al Zour.
In Iraq, renewed sandstorms caused breathing difficulties for hundreds of people.
The Iraqi Health Ministry said that 2,000 patients had been treated in hospitals. Ambulances were deployed across the country to help people at risk of suffocation, the state agency INA reported.
On May 5, at least 5,000 cases of respiratory problems resulting from dust storms were registered in different parts of Iraq, the country’s Health Ministry said.
GNA