Syrian authorities evacuate citizens amid major forest fires

Fires have been spreading across large parts of Syria, particularly the coast, for several days, with firefighters struggling to control them due to strong winds and an intense drought.

Abdulkafi Kayyal, director of the Directorate of Disasters and Emergencies in the Latakia province, told the state-run SANA  news agency that the fires in the Qastal Maaf area had spread to the vicinity of several villages, prompting firefighters and civil defence members to evacuate them.

Syria's civil defence, also known as the White Helmets, warned residents of "the spread of rising smoke emissions to the northern section of the coastal mountains, the city of Hama, its countryside, and southern Idlib areas".

"Our teams recorded losses in the orchards due to the widespread spread of the forest fire in several areas of the Latakia countryside," the civil defence added, asking citizens to report anyone they suspect of starting fires to the authorities.

With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria in recent years has been battered by heatwaves, low rainfall and major forest fires.

In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation told AFP that Syria had "not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years", noting that an unprecedented drought was on course to push more than 16 million people into food insecurity.

The country is also reeling from more than a decade of civil war, with the transition from the iron-fisted rule of Bashar al-Assad, toppled in December, ongoing.

Kayyal said the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance in the area was hindering the work of rescuers, along with the strong winds spreading the fires.