NICOSIA/BEIRUT — A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East on Tuesday, killing two people and hospitalizing hundreds in Lebanonand disrupting fighting and air strikes in neighboring Syria.
Clouds of dust also engulfed Israel, Jordan and Cyprus where aircraft were diverted to Pathos from Larnaca airport as visibility fell to 500 meters.
"We have had sandstorms before, but not of this intensity. It's very rare for this time of year too and it's covering the entire region," a Cypriot metrological office official told Reuters.
There were fewer air strikes in Syria on Monday as the storm engulfed the sky, said Rami Abdulrahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
People across the region posted pictures online of huge clouds of billowing dust. Dust storms frequently hit the Middle East during the summer but usually concentrate on Iraq and Gulf region where clouds of sand are whipped up from arid areas...
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2015/09/08/world/middleeast/08reuters-mideast-storm.html?ref=topics
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