Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Lattakia, SANA-The Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management announced the formation of a joint operations room with the Ministries of Agriculture, Defense, and Interior to control the forest fires raging in the Rabia area of the Lattakia countryside for the third consecutive day.
Deputy Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Dr. Hussam Hallaq, said in a statement to a SANA correspondent that civil defense teams responded to the fire in the early hours and began extinguishing operations to limit its spread.
“Due to the significant challenges the teams are facing, this operations room was established to coordinate all efforts and expedite the fire control process,” he added.
Hallaq noted that they are also coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request support from Turkey in case the fire spreads and the use of firefighting helicopters is required.
He affirmed that the Turkish Ambassador to Damascus, Dr. Burhan Koroglu, expressed his country’s readiness to provide support during a call with M
inister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed al-Saleh.
The Civil Defense Department said on its Telegram channel that its teams and the Lattakia Fire Brigade are facing significant difficulties in controlling the fires raging in the forests of the Sukariyya area in Jabal al-Turkman in the Lattakia countryside.
“The teams are struggling with the difficult terrain, the lack of fire lines ready to limit the spread of the fire, the remoteness of water supply sources, and the lack of specialized tracked vehicles, all of which make intervention even more difficult.” The Civil Defense added.
The Civil Defense said that all firefighting teams are exerting their utmost efforts to deal with the fire, control it, and prevent its spread to additional areas.
MHD Ibrahim
