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Sandstorm engulfs Baghdad-Iraq
9.8.2005
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BAGHDAD -
Enveloping the capital in an eerie orange glow, a
blinding sandstorm reduced visibility in Baghdad to
less than a metre yesterday, slowing traffic to a
crawl, cancelling a key meeting on the Iraqi
constitution and sending hundreds of people to
hospital with breathing problems.
Howling winds whipped up desert sands overnight,
coating the streets of the city in a gritty opaque
haze. Though sandstorms are common in Iraq's desert
terrain, especially during the summer, the one that
arrived overnight was the worst in two years,
long-suffering residents said.
"Baghdad looks miserable today," resident Ahmed
Malik said. "Shops are closed as if there is no life
in the city, as if a nuclear bomb attacked it. It's
completely abandoned."
The storm's fury forced Iraq's political leaders to
postpone key talks aimed at breaking an impasse over
drafting a new constitution by next Monday's
deadline. A second round of talks had been set for
last evening, but was delayed for at least a day.
Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, head of the
Kurdistan Democratic party, had planned to attend
the meetings, including the opening session Sunday
night, but remained stranded in the northern city of
Irbil, after flights into Baghdad International
Airport were cancelled because of poor visibility.
The capital's weather forecasting centre said the
sandstorm was expected to last 48 hours, though
lessening in intensity. Storms were also reported
across Iraq's border in Kuwait and in southeastern
Jordan.
Throughout Baghdad, cars coated in sand slowed to a
crawl as the handful of residents who ventured
outside covered their faces in scarves or surgical
masks to keep out the dust. About 300 people crowded
into Yarmouk Hospital complaining of respiratory
problems.
AP
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