'Purely civil': Syria clarifies role of new Damascus airport radar
The new radar is part of a modernisation plan for civil aviation infrastructure aimed at enhancing air safety standards.
Syria has said a recently commissioned radar at Damascus International Airport is intended solely for civilian use and has no military function.
Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport said late on Wednesday that the radar is dedicated exclusively to civil air navigation and air traffic management.
Omar Hosari, head of the authority, said in a statement on social media that "the radar recently commissioned at Damascus International Airport is a purely civil radar, dedicated exclusively to civil air navigation and air traffic management purposes."
The statement said the radar operates under "the full and direct authority" of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, in accordance with national laws and internationally recognised standards.
"The Authority clarifies that this radar forms part of the ongoing modernisation of civil aviation infrastructure," the statement said.
"It has no military function or non-civil application whatsoever."
The authority said it remains committed to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and to the standards and recommended practices issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
It also rejected "any attempt to politicise or militarise civil aviation infrastructure."
The statement came amid claims in Israeli media that the new radar posed a "major challenge to Israeli fighter jets."