Shafaq News / The Iraqi Ministry of health recorded 2000 cases of asphyxia due to the dust storm that hit the country on Monday.

The Ministry's spokesman, Saif al-Badr, called on the elderly and those who suffer from cardio-pulmonary illnesses to stay at home, stressing that all medical institutions are in a state of emergency.

All medicines and

Shafaq News / The Iraqi Ministries of health and electricity announced a state of emergency due to the severe dust storm that hit the country on Monday.

Iraq's Minister of health, Hani al-Aqabi, called on health departments in all governorates to take the required measures and hospitalize those who are affected by the storm.

For its part, the

Shafaq News / Dust storms have increased dramatically in frequency in Iraq in recent years, driven by soil degradation and intense droughts made worse by climate change, with rising average temperatures and sharply lower rainfall.

The Poor visibility conditions forced the authorities to suspend all outbound and inbound flights, in addition to

Shafaq News/ The second deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Shakhwan Abdullah, on Sunday chastised the Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, and his ministry's policy, accusing him of "inciting problems between Baghdad and Erbil" in an attempt to "undermine the stability and turn a blind eye for corruption."

In a statement he issued earlier