Shrouded in the dark: Nationwide power blackout hits Syria, says state TV

Damascus: War-torn Syria was hit on Thursday by a nationwide power cut, reported state television, but the cause was not immediately known. “Electricity has been cut across all provinces and teams are trying to determine the reason for this unexpected cut,” the station reported, citing a source within the electricity ministry. Damascus residents said power in the capital had been out since 1 pm (1100 GMT) and that mobile Internet connections from some private providers were also not working. [caption id=“attachment_2657404” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] Syria’s state mobile provider said its Internet service had been “partially cut due to part of the network unexpectedly malfunctioning”. Since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011, various areas across the country have experienced intermittent power outages as a result of clashes or air strikes and many regularly rely on generators for power. Syria’s parliament had on Monday called in electricity minister Imad Khamis for a special hearing on the power sector. Khamis told parliamentarians that the cost of “direct damage” to the country’s power stations and the electricity network from 2011 until the end of 2015 was estimated USD 3.75 billion. In statements carried by Syria’s state news agency SANA, Khamis said five out of the 13 main power stations in Syria had been “directly damaged” in the war. AFP