Syria appeals to EU for help battling massive wildfires in Latakia
"Communication has also been established with the European Union, and there is a possibility of air support from Cyprus today to bolster the extinguishing efforts," Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Saleh wrote in a post on X.
"We are facing significant field challenges, most notably the rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, active winds, and the presence of mine remnants and unexploded ordnance."
Since the beginning of July, the Syrian civil defence have responded to 334 wildfires across the country, most of them concentrated in Latakia followed by Tartous, Saleh wrote on X.
The fires, which started last week, have proven difficult to bring under control despite reinforcements from Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon that came to the country to help Syrian teams fight the blazes.
On the second day of the fire, firefighters managed to bring 90% of the wildfires under control but explosions of left-over war ordnance and heavy winds helped spread the fires again.
There are currently 120 teams fighting the fires.
On Monday, the Lebanese army said it sent two helicopters to help fire crews in coordination with Syrian authorities.
While at the weekend, UN teams deployed to the Syrian coast where they are conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the damage.
"UN teams are on the ground conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and to identify the most immediate humanitarian needs," UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, said in a statement.
"The UN reiterates its solidarity with the people of Syria at this critical moment and stands ready to work alongside all stakeholders to ensure that no one is left behind in the response and recovery efforts."
Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions that then lead to blazes.
Also, below-average rainfall over the winter left many Syrians struggling with water shortages this summer, as the springs and rivers that normally supply much of the population with drinking water have gone dry.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Cambodia calls for ceasefire with Thailand after deadly clashes
Cambodia wants an "immediate ceasefire" with Thailand, the country's envoy to the United Nations said Friday, July 25, after the neighbors traded deadly strikes for a second day, with Bangkok also signaling an openness to talks. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, prompting the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis Friday. "Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute," said Phnom Penh's UN ambassador Chhea Keo following a closed meeting of the Council attended by Cambodia and Thailand. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border Friday, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian – a 70-year-old man – had been killed and five more wounded. More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand's border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities – 14 civilians and a soldier – with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops. Fighting resumed in three areas around 4 am on Friday (2100 GMT Thursday), the Thai army said, with Cambodian forces firing heavy weapons, field artillery, and BM-21 rocket systems, and Thai troops responding "with appropriate supporting fire." Thai Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told AFP that fighting had begun to ease off by Friday afternoon, however, adding that Bangkok was open to talks, possibly aided by Malaysia. "We are ready, if Cambodia would like to settle this matter via diplomatic channels, bilaterally, or even through Malaysia, we are ready to do that. But so far we have not had any response," Nikorndej told AFP, speaking before the UN meeting had been held. Malaysia currently holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members. Earlier, acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai had warned that if the situation escalated, "it could develop into war." "For now, it remains limited to clashes," he told reporters in Bangkok. Ongoing dispute Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket. At the UN, Cambodia's envoy questioned Thailand's assertion that his country, which is smaller and less militarily developed than its neighbor, had initiated the conflict. "(The Security Council) called for both parties to (show) maximum restraint and resort to a diplomatic solution. That is what we are calling for as well," said Chhea Keo. None of the other attendees of the UNSC meeting spoke to reporters. The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbors -- both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists -- over their shared 800-kilometer (500-mile) border. Dozens of kilometers in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new on Thursday was focused on six locations, according to the Thai army, including around two ancient temples. Ground troops backed up by tanks battled for control of territory, while Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border.
Euronews
8 hours ago
- Euronews
Iran, E3 nations agree to resume nuclear talks after Istanbul meeting
Talks between Iran and the UK, France and Germany, known collectively as the E3 countries, concluded in Istanbul on Friday with both sides agreeing to continue discussions aimed at breaking the deadlock over Tehran's nuclear programme. The four-hour meeting, held at the Iranian Consulate, marked the first formal engagement since the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in June, which included US airstrikes on nuclear-linked sites. Discussions focused on the possible reimposition of international sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, which limited Iran's enrichment activities in exchange for relief from punitive measures. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who led the Iranian delegation alongside Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, described the exchange as "serious, frank and detailed," noting that both sides came with "specific ideas" and had agreed to further consultations. The E3 have warned that without visible progress, sanctions could be restored under the UN's "snapback mechanism", a clause in the 2015 agreement allowing the automatic return of sanctions if Iran breaches the deal's terms. A European diplomat, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the negotiations, said the E3 had offered Tehran a temporary delay in triggering the mechanism, on condition that Tehran re-engage diplomatically, cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and address concerns over its rapidly growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium. "The snapback remains on the table," the diplomat said. Iran, however, insists that its enrichment activities are within its legal rights. Gharibabadi reiterated on social media that Tehran's nuclear efforts must be respected, adding that the talks should not serve as a "platform for hidden agendas such as military action." He also stated that Iran's involvement in the diplomatic process depends on "rebuilding trust," particularly in light of the US withdrawal from the 2015 accord under former President Donald Trump. "Iran has absolutely no trust in the United States," Gharibabadi wrote. In May, the IAEA reported that Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity had surpassed 400 kilograms, close to weapons-grade level. Since then, Tehran has suspended cooperation with the agency. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, speaking in Singapore on Friday, warned that inspectors must be allowed to return soon. "This is an international obligation of Iran," he said, urging movement "from words to reality." Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking to Al Jazeera earlier this week, maintained that the country remains committed to international law and does not intend to pursue nuclear weapons. The talks in Istanbul come amid rising tensions in the region. Last month, Israeli and US military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites prompted retaliatory attacks on Israel and a US base in Qatar.
Euronews
9 hours ago
- Euronews
What does France's decision to recognize Palestine mean?
Whether seen as reckless or bold, French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to recognize Palestine as a state could have some consequences in the future. The French president said in a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and posted on X that he will formalize the decision at the U.N. General Assembly in September. 'France will rally in favour of the implementation of the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,' Macron wrote. 'This solution is the only path forward which allows us to respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis as well as Palestinians,' he added. But what does recognizing Palestine mean? Why does it matter? And what is likely to happen? WHAT DOES IT MEAN? France is the most powerful country in Europe to have said it would recognize a Palestinian state, soon joining 147 states that have already done so. It will also join the 11 European countries, which officially recognize Palestinian statehood, including Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. For many of these countries, the act of recognition means acknowledging the sovereignty and independence of Palestine in its pre-1967 borders (i.e. in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem) and establishing full diplomatic relations with the country. France would then join the countries that already host a full-fledged Palestinian embassy. WHY IT (SOMEWHAT) MATTERS? France has Europe's largest Jewish population, as well as the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. As one of the founding fathers of the European Union, its voice carries a lot of weight not only in Europe but also around the world. Its decision to recognize Palestine is likely to put additional pressure on Israel at a time when the word genocide is used by a growing number of historians and legal experts to designate Tel Aviv's war in the Gaza strip. Earlier this week, more than 100 leading organizations including Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and Oxfam said that famine is widespread across Gaza. Yet, the humanitarian situation on the ground is unlikely to improve. US-sponsored ceasefire talks in Doha failed after Washington withdrew, saying Hamas was not acting 'in good faith.' 'France's recognition of Palestine sends a signal to Israel that it is paying a political price among its allies for its actions in Gaza,' said Martin Konecny, who runs the European Middle East Project in Brussels. 'It also counters the Israeli effort to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state.' It is also unlikely that such move would have any legal knock-on effect, including on trade relations with Palestine. But Konecny said it could be used in court procedures in the future, at the International Criminal Court or national courts 'where this argument could play a role.' Observers point that Macron is hoping to pressure his European allies, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy to take a stance and revive the long-defunct two state-solution, whereby a Palestinian state would be created alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as it capital. This arrangement had been the basis of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations since the 1993 Oslo peace accord. Macron's recognition makes the two-state solution 'even more urgent than before,' Konecny said, but 'additional measures on Israel' will be needed in order to end the war in Gaza as well as the settlement expansion in the West Bank. While the Palestinian authority still advocates for two states, Israel no longer supports this solution to the conflict, nor does its US ally. In fact, settlement activity on the West Bank has further expanded in the past years, rendering the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state impossible. Add to that, President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017, prompting the US embassy to move there from Tel Aviv. The two-state solution advocated by Macron seems highly symbolic and unfeasible as things stand on the ground. On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also slammed Macron's move to recognise a Palestinian state, calling it a 'reckless decision' that 'only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace.' By contrast, many EU governments already support a two-state solution but argue that an official recognition of Palestine should go hand in hand with a long-term solution to the conflict in the Middle East. 'We can no longer accept massacres and famine,' Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani told Ansa, the country's press agency on Friday. 'Italy is favourable to the solution of two people and two states but the recognition of a new state of Palestine should be done at the same time as the recognition of a state of Israel by the Palestinians.' While the Palestinian Authority does recognize Israel, Hamas does not. 'What interests us is peace, not the victory of one over the other,' Tajani said. Pressure for a recognition of Palestine has intensified in the UK, with British prime minister Keir Starmer scheduled to hold an emergency call with Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later today. WHAT IS NEXT? But many political analysts also say Macron's move is a largely symbolic foreign policy tool that would boost the French president's profile but is unlikely to result in any changes to the situation on the ground. The once self-described, all-mighty 'Jupiter' president has focused his last possible term on foreign policy leaving his embattled prime minister dealing with France's mammoth budget deficit and controversial retirement reform. 'It is important for France's foreign policy but not for the Palestinians,' said Maria Luisa Frantappié, who heads the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa Programme at Italy's think tank Instituto Affari Internazionali. 'It will mainly boost France's credibility,' she said, especially among the global South actors. 'The danger is that a lot of diplomatic energy will focus on something that is totally inadequate in the face of what we are seeing in the ground,' Konecny said. Both analysts agreed that a much more consequential action would be for Europe, which has been historically sidelined in attempting to mediate a political solution to the conflict, to review its trade ties with Israel through the EU-Israel association agreement. But the EU is far too divided on the issue. Earlier this month, the EU's foreign affairs ministers decided to delay agreeing on a list of 10 options to respond to Israel's action in Gaza during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. They also agreed to 'keep a close watch' on Israel's compliance with a recent agreement to improve humanitarian aid access into Gaza. Last but not least, a shift in position would need to come from Germany, a country that has so far been governed by the so-called 'Staatsraison,' a sense of responsibility towards Israel which comes from the legacy of the Nazi Holocaust. So far, Germany has no plans to follow in on Macron's footsteps in the short term. On Friday, Stefan Kornelius, a government spokesman told German media that Germany continues to regard the recognition of Palestine as "one of the final steps on the path to achieving a two-state solution." At the same time, the German government is also "prepared to increase the pressure" if no progress is made in resolving the conflict, Kornelius said.
