[Rudaw] Syrian firefighters in the western coastal province of Latakia are facing significant challenges in battling forest fires for a fourth day, with Damascus describing the blazes as a “climate and environmental disaster.”
Over 7,000 hectares of forest have been burned in Latakia since wildfires broke out on Wednesday, the country’s emergency and disaster management ministry reported on Sunday. The presence of mines and unexploded ordnance, along with strong winds, are complicating firefighting efforts.
“The situation is dire and constitutes a climate and environmental disaster affecting Syria,” the ministry said in a statement.
Turkey, which is battling wildfires on its own turf, and Jordan have dispatched assistance to help Damascus combat the flames.
“Nearly 90 teams and more than 150 vehicles are participating in the firefighting efforts in the Latakia countryside,” according to the ministry, but “the presence of mines, remnants of war, and strong winds are hampering efforts to extinguish the fires.”
Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh announced the creation of an operations room to provide “logistical and field support for firefighting operations in the northern Latakia countryside,” according to the state-run SANA news agency.
On Saturday, Syria’s civil defense warned of the risk of the wildfires spreading to Hama and Idlib. 
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