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On Tuesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited the coastal province of Latakia to meet with people affected by the fires. The UN reported Sunday that 25,000 people had been evacuated and that some 140,000 people had been affected in some way.
The fires began to spread late last week in northwestern Syria, within the country’s three major forested provinces: the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, and Homs near the border with Lebanon.
Thousands of hectares of forest have been destroyed, including areas with rare plants. The fires are more devastating because they occurred just before the olive harvest.
Inhabitants of about 150 villages they have been forced to flee. So far, three people have died and about eighty have been injured. Hospitals where corona patients are cared for have been forced to evacuate patients. In addition, several industries have been destroyed.
The mayor of the al-Haffa community, located less than 30 km east of Latakia, warns that 150 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the community threatens to explode. It is the same substance that exploded in the port of Beirut in August.
The fires have also approached the Russian military base in Khmeimim. Russian planes take part in the extinction work.
Photo: Louai Beshara / AFP
Photo: Louai Beshara / AFP
Several videos that circulated on social media show how people accuse government officials of corruption. They point out that fire fighting equipment is missing (due to corruption) and that the response to the disaster has not been fast enough. They also accuse Russia of failing to protect its “allies”.
However, disappointment quickly Attention: the affected Syrian coastal mountain areas are populated by supporters of the regime. In addition to al-Assad, several ministers have visited the area in recent days. The businessmen have raised more than 400 million Syrian pounds (about 1.6 million crowns) to help the affected people, reports the Syrian state news agency Sana.
By Monday night, most of the fires were under control, but the UN warns they could flare up again in some areas. According to the regime, several people have been detained on suspicion of starting fires.
The fires have also created controversy among Syrians on social media. Some of those who were previously targeted by regime bombing, famine and expulsion are now happy that it is the regime’s areas that have been affected. This group has recalled that the regime’s own supporters have previously been happy about the tragedies in areas ruled by opposition forces. Others in the opposition, however, have shown sympathy.
The fires have also spread heading north to Turkey. In neighboring Lebanon, at the same time, there have been around a hundred fires that have spread into southern Israel and caused the explosion of landmines along the border.
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