United Nations teams have deployed to the Syrian coastal region to help control the massive wildfires that destroyed thousands of hectares of forest, according to The Associated Press.
The fires had destroyed “hundreds of thousands of trees” covering an area estimated at 10,000 hectares (38.6 square miles), Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Al-Saleh posted on X.
Al-Saleh also described the situation as “extremely tragic.”
UN teams have joined Syrian firefighters who are battling fires for a fourth day with strong winds, rugged terrain and the danger of landmines hampering the efforts.
The blazes of the fire in the northwestern province of Latakia “have forced hundreds of families to flee their homes, while vast tracts of agricultural land and vital infrastructure have been destroyed,” UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria Adam Abdelmoula said.
Crucially, Turkey and Jordan have supported Syrian civil defense teams with firefighting teams providing support from the air with helicopters.
Meanwhile, emergency crews are also trying to halt the blazes from reaching the Al-Frunloq natural reserve, with its large, interconnected forests.
Currently, the teams are carrying out assessments to find out the scale of the disaster and consequently determine the urgent humanitarian need.
This catastrophe comes in a crucial time as Syria’s new government strives to build a new recovered economy after over a decade of civil war and crippling sanctions that isolated Syria from the international community.
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