DAMASCUS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Syrian telecommunications authorities said Monday that a major international undersea internet cable linking Syria to Egypt was damaged in what officials described as an act of sabotage, causing widespread internet disruptions across the country.
The Syrian Telecommunications Company said the submarine cable carrying internet traffic between the Syrian coastal city of Tartous and Egypt's Alexandria was damaged near the shore of Tartous, knocking out a large portion of Syria's international internet capacity and weakening internet connectivity for subscribers across Syria.
In statements by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, the company said technical teams immediately launched emergency measures to reduce the impact of the disruption and restore services.
Syrian authorities described the incident as part of what they called a "systematic sabotage campaign" targeting the country's telecommunications infrastructure and seeking to disrupt services in one of Syria's key sectors.
No further details were immediately available regarding the cause or possible suspects.
Internet and telecommunications services in Syria have repeatedly faced disruptions during years of conflict due to infrastructure damage, power shortages and technical failures. ■
