Autonomous Administration offers help as wildfires ravage Syria's coastal forests
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria announced on Tuesday its readiness to assist in extinguishing the wildfires that have swept across Syria's coastal forests in recent days, causing significant destruction to vegetation and raising fears of worsening environmental and economic damage.
In a statement, the Environmental Authority of the Autonomous Administration described the fires as 'an escalating environmental disaster whose consequences go beyond natural impact.' It expressed solidarity with residents of the affected areas and pledged to provide 'all possible forms of assistance to contain the fires and prevent their spread.'
The Authority also called on the international community and environmental organizations to intervene and support ongoing efforts to protect Syria's forests and prevent future disasters.
Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed al-Saleh, previously confirmed that Damascus had requested support from the European Union to combat the blazes, which have continued for a sixth consecutive day in the Latakia countryside.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, stated that the fast-moving fires in northwestern Latakia had forced hundreds of families to flee their homes, while large areas of farmland and vital infrastructure have been destroyed.
He added that UN teams are conducting emergency assessments to gauge the scale of the disaster and identify the most urgent humanitarian needs.
Firefighting teams from Turkiye and Jordan have joined Syrian Civil Defense efforts, providing aerial support with helicopters. The blaze has already destroyed hundreds of thousands of trees across an estimated 10,000 hectares (about 38.6 square miles).
Syrian Civil Defense teams warned that unexploded ordnance left behind from the country's 14-year conflict may be present in some of the affected forested areas, complicating containment and evacuation operations.
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