Syria says that forest fires in the northwest of the province of Latakie contained after 10 days | Climate crisis news

The fires were contained with the help of the Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese, Qatari and Iraqi fire -fighting teams.

Forest fires in the northwest of Syria, which have burned large expanses of forest and agricultural land and forced evacuations, were mastered after 10 days.

In a statement published on Facebook on Sunday, the Civil Defense Agency said: “With the spread of fires and the fire hotspots mastered on all fronts”, the teams on the ground strive to cool the affected areas while monitoring any sign of reactivation.

The flames of the coastal province of Latakia broke out on July 3 in the middle of an intense heat wave in the region, which also affected the Dortyol district and Neighboring turkiye.

The United Nations Bureau for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that it had destroyed approximately 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest and agricultural land.

While fires raged, Syrian emergencies have not only had to use obsolete equipment, but are also facing high temperatures, strong winds, accidental mountainous land and the danger of explosive war remains.

All this presents itself in a country exhausted by years of conflict and economic crisis, almost seven months after the escape of the longtime sovereign Bashar al-Assad and the installation of a transitional government led by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the head of the armed group now dissandated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

In an article on X, Raed Al-Saleh, Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, said that the civil defense and fire-fighting teams “managed to stop the spread of fire on all fronts” with the help of the Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese, Qatari and Iraqi teams.

Turkiye sent two fire -fighting planes earlier to help fight flames. Eleven firefighters and water support vehicles were also sent, according to Al-Saleh.

“Fire fighting teams are intensely working to turn off the remaining hot spots and cool the areas already extinguished. The situation is heading for confinement followed by full cooling operations,” said Al-Saleh.

“There are still threats due to wind activity, but we work to prevent any renewed expansion of fires.”

The authorities have not pointed out any victim, but several cities in the province of Latakia have been evacuated as a precaution.

With Climate change induced by man By increasing the probability and intensity of droughts and forest fires worldwide, Syria has also been beaten by heat and low precipitation waves.

In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said that Syria had “not experienced bad climatic conditions in 60 years”.