Chinese company keeps Syria connected to Internet

NEW YORK — A firm that tracks the pathways of the Internet says a Chinese company is keeping war-torn Syria connected to the Internet as other telecommunications companies withdraw.

The Syrian government ultimately controls Internet connection to the outside world but it’s a major route for rebel communications and news from the country, as the civil war intensifies.

Hong Kong-based PCCW Ltd. is now carrying most of the Internet traffic to and from Syria, according to Renesys Corp., a Manchester, N.H., company that studies the structure of the Internet.

PCCW has shouldered the load as Turk Telecom, the main phone company in neighboring Turkey, dropped away on Aug. 12. It’s not clear what killed that connection, but Turkey has protested the Syria regime’s actions. China is one of Syria’s few international allies.