Syria seeks EU assistance to contain Latakia wildfires

DAMASCUS, Syria

Damascus has requested support from the European Union to help contain raging wildfires in the countryside of Latakia in northwestern Syria, the Syrian minister of emergency and disaster management said on Tuesday.

“Contact has been made with the EU to request its support in extinguishing the Latakia countryside fires,” Raed al-Saleh said in statements carried by the state news agency SANA.

He said strong winds last night caused the fires, which started on July 3, to spread to the village of al-Ghassaniyah in northern Latakia countryside.

“Civil defense teams managed to evacuate women and children and extinguish the flames with the help of local villagers,” Saleh said.

The minister said Turkish and Jordanian teams are taking part in the firefighting efforts, along with aircraft from Türkiye, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

He cited that 16 aircraft were involved in firefighting operations on Monday, with the number expected to reach 20 on Tuesday, in a reference to potential EU involvement.

“The top priority is protecting civilians, and so far, no fatalities have been recorded despite the fires spreading to multiple areas,” the minister said.

According to the Syrian minister, ten civil defense personnel have so far been injured, most of them suffering from smoke inhalation.

“Weather conditions are significantly contributing to the spread of the fires, along with large amounts of dry wood and the risk of explosions from remnants of war (waged by the former regime against Syrians over the past 14 years),” he said.

Areas in the Latakia countryside frequently experience wildfires during the summer due to high temperatures, dense forests, and strong winds, which complicate efforts to control the flames.