Jordanian firefighting teams have joined Syrian crews battling intense wildfires that have scorched around 10,000 hectares of forest and farmland in Syria’s coastal Latakia province.
Jordan sent advanced firefighting equipment and personnel across the border on Sunday © Mena Today
Jordanian firefighting teams have joined Syrian crews battling intense wildfires that have scorched around 10,000 hectares of forest and farmland in Syria’s coastal Latakia province.
The fires, ongoing for four days, have forced the evacuation of several villages and destroyed hundreds of thousands of trees across 28 areas, according to Syria’s emergency minister, Raed al-Saleh.
The blaze is fueled by extreme heat, strong winds, and rugged terrain, made worse by the presence of unexploded remnants from years of conflict.
Jordan sent advanced firefighting equipment and personnel across the border on Sunday, with planes expected to follow, according to Jordanian authorities.
Turkey had already dispatched two aircraft and eight fire trucks on Saturday to assist. The UN has also deployed teams on the ground to assess the humanitarian impact. Deputy UN envoy Najat Rochdi called for more international support.
The disaster comes as Syria struggles with the effects of climate change and years of war. The FAO recently noted that Syria is experiencing its worst climate conditions in 60 years, with severe droughts and record wildfires increasing in intensity.
Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has written to U.S. President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, and urged her to contact Israel's prime minister and raise the plight of children in Gaza, authorities in Ankara said on Saturday.
Syria's first parliamentary election under its new Islamist administration, scheduled for September, will not include the southern province of Sweida and two other provinces because of security concerns, the electoral commission said on Saturday.
The Israeli prime minister's office said on Thursday that Israeli citizen Saleh Abu-Hussein, who was detained in Lebanon for about a year, returned to Israel following negotiations with the help of the Red Cross.
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