Syrian airline suspends Belarus flights over migrant crisis

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s private Cham Wings Airlines says it’s suspending flights between Damascus and the Belarus capital of Minsk because of the “critical circumstances” along the border between Belarus and Poland where thousands of migrants have been trying to cross into the European Union. The company said on Saturday that most of its passengers to Minsk have been Syrian citizens and that it’s difficult to differentiate between those traveling to Belarus as a final destination and others who are migrants. Thousands of people from around the Middle East, many of them Syrians and Iraqis, have been trying to cross into the EU through a backdoor opened by non-EU member Belarus.