Lebanon and Syria ravaged by huge forest fires

An aerial image of a forest fire in the Baabda district of Lebanon on October 9, 2020. AP Photo

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2 min

Thousands of hectares of forests and green spaces have gone up in smoke in Lebanon and Syria due to dozens of fires that firefighters and the competent services are struggling to control.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

The origin of most of the fires could not be determined, but unusually high temperatures for the season and warm winds encouraged the progression of the flames.

This Saturday, October 10, and for the third consecutive day, dozens of outbreaks broke out all over Lebanon, destroying pine forests and reducing vast green spaces to ashes.

Firefighters and civil defense fight relentlessly to try to control the flames, with the help of helicopters from the Lebanese army.

A huge fire broke out in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa farms in the far south-eastern part of Lebanon.

An MP from the region accused the Israelis of causing the fires and called on the army and United Nations force deployed in the region to intervene.

The director of Lebanese civil defense operations called the situation " 

 ", telling Agence France Presse that " 

 ".

The situation is not much better in neighboring Syria, ravaged by dozens of forest fires for several days.

In the coastal provinces of Tartous and Lattakia alone, more than 80 fires have reduced hundreds of hectares to smoke.

Faced with the scale of the disaster, the authorities of the two countries seem helpless.

The only hope is the drop in temperatures expected in the coming days.

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• Lebanon

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• Environment