Latakia Countryside Fires: Moderate Improvement and Continued Challenges.. Minister of Emergencies Reveals Reinforcement Details

Minister of Emergencies and Disaster Management of Syria, Raed Al-Saleh, announced a noticeable improvement in controlling the fires raging in northern Latakia countryside, where a large number of active hotspots have been brought under control, and firefighting teams have started cooling operations at several sites.

Al-Saleh emphasized during a field tour this morning that challenges still persist in some areas, especially in "Hill 45" due to rugged terrain, noting that "Turkish and Jordanian aircraft that arrived today will begin aerial intervention to support firefighting efforts," in addition to the continued participation of Turkish ground teams. He also mentioned the arrival of new reinforcements, including the Jordanian ground team which is "on its way to the region."

The Minister explained that firefighting operations involve the participation of 80 field teams and 160 various vehicles, operating within a joint operations room comprising all relevant local organizations. In cooperation with ministries and civil defense, dozens of heavy vehicles have been rented, describing the efforts of the working teams as "operating like a beehive in the face of one of the toughest waves of fires."

To address the challenges, Al-Saleh confirmed that "the entire firefighting teams in civil defense have been replaced, and teams from various provinces have been brought in," explaining that these teams have been deployed to areas "Mashqita in Latakia countryside, and Al-Duraykish and Al-Qadmous in Tartous countryside, in addition to Aleppo and Hama," putting additional pressure on the field personnel.