Middle East & North Africa

CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has suspended all international flights for two weeks, starting Sunday, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, state news agency SPA said on Saturday, citing an official source at interior ministry.

The period will be considered as an exceptional official holiday for citizens and residents who are unable to return due to the suspension of flights or if they face quarantine after their return to the Kingdom, SPA cited the official as saying.

Saudi Arabia has reported 86 coronavirus cases.

TRIPOLI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday said it evacuated 128 refugees from Libya to Niger.

"In the 1st evacuation of the year, Sudanese, Somali and Eritrean refugees were transported today from Libya to Niger to UNHCR's transit center in Niamey," UNHCR said.

"Refugees living in urban areas and others recently released from detention were part of this group," UNHCR added.

TEHRAN, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Friday said that the United States should end its "illegal" presence in the region.

"The U.S. cannot blame others for the consequences of its illegal presence in Iraq," Mousavi made the remarks in a reaction to the U.S. claims blaming others for a recent attack on its military base in Iraq.

"Instead of making dangerous moves and baseless accusations, Mr. (Donald) Trump should thoroughly review the presence and behavior of his forces in the region," he said.

TRIPOLI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN-backed government's forces repelled an attack by the rival east-based army in southern Tripoli, killing at least 25 soldiers and destroying four military vehicles of the east-based army, a spokesman of the forces of the UN-backed Libyan government said Friday.

"Our forces managed to deal with the attack (of the east-based army) in Ramla area (in southern Tripoli), destroying four military vehicles and killing no less than 15 of their mercenaries," Mohamed Gonono said in a statement.

BEIRUT, March 13 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese security source told Xinhua on Friday that unidentified people punctured the oil pipeline that runs from Iraq to Lebanon via Syria in the Wadi Khaled area located in Akkar, northern Lebanon.

The source pointed out that the aim of the attack was to extract oil, refine it manually, and sell it on the black market.

The security source noted that this is the third time that the pipeline has been punctured during the past two years.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s military said five security force members and a civilian were killed early Friday in a barrage of U.S. airstrikes launched hours after a rocket attack killed and wounded American and British servicemen at a base north of Baghdad.

An Iran-backed Shiite militia group vowed to exact revenge for the U.S. strikes, potentially signalling another cycle of tit-for-tat violence between Washington and Tehran that could play out inside Iraq.

13 Mar 2020; MEMO: Iran, asked today, Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for immediate financial assistance to tackle the novel Coronavirus, in conjunction with the authorities’ announcement of 75 new deaths, in the highest daily death toll since the virus began spreading in the country. Thus, the number of casualties officially exceeded 10,000.

ANKARA, March 13 (NNN-ANADOLU) — ATurkey will close its primary, secondary and high schools for two weeks, with remote education to begin in the second week as part of precautions against the novel coronavirus, the country’s education minister said Thursday.

The announcement came after a five-hour meeting at the presidential complex amid the global coronavirus outbreak. Following the meeting, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin declared various precautionary measures for the coming weeks, including school closures.

ISTANBUL, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Illegal migrants have been trying to cross the Aegean Sea in an attempt to reach Greek islands from Turkey, despite warnings about danger.

During the last three days, the Turkish coast guard teams apprehended 177 migrants either stranded in a risky situation on the sea or pushed back to Turkish waters by Greek coast guard teams, the force said on its website Wednesday.

DAMASCUS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Two Turkish soldiers and three Turkey-backed Syrian rebels were killed on Thursday by an explosion in northwestern Syria, a war monitor reported.

The blast was caused by a booby-trapped truck that ripped through a checkpoint manned by Turkish and Syrian rebels in the village of Tal Halaf in the countryside of Ras al-Ayn city in the northwestern province of Hasakah, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.