Russian Failure to Help Battle Syria’s Forest Fires Angers Damascus

A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)
A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)
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Russian Failure to Help Battle Syria’s Forest Fires Angers Damascus

A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)
A Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. AFP)

Damascus has been angered by Russia’s failure to help it battle forest fires in regime-held areas of the war-torn country.

The head of the Civil Defense, Maj. Gen. Saeed Awad, said Syria hasn’t witnessed such fires for years. “Cooperation with armed forces had the biggest role in containing many fires.”

But he said that the Civil Defense “hasn’t been offered any assistance from friendly countries, such as Russia, to fight the fires.”

Syrian firefighters and army helicopters Wednesday battled forest fires for the seventh consecutive day.

Damascus ally Iran sent in a firefighting plane Wednesday carrying 40 tons of water to help fight the fires in the hilly woodlands of Latakia and Hama provinces, in northwestern and central Syria respectively, state news agency SANA said.

State media has published repeated images of billowing smoke above tree tops and charred vegetation.

"Numerous fires have been put out, others brought under control, but the fires continue to rage in some areas" of Latakia, forestry official Hassan Fares told AFP.

The agriculture ministry said steep terrain was an obstacle to fire trucks being able to reach the fire hit areas quickly.

There was no immediate data for how large an area had been affected overall.

But Hama governor Mohammed al-Hazouri said the blaze had ravaged eight square kilometers of agricultural land in his province alone.

Summer fires, sometimes sparked by accident and generally not linked to the war, are common in Syria, but residents have said this year's are worse than usual.



Gaza's Health Ministry Says the Palestinian Death Toll from the War Has Surpassed 46,000

People search the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on January 8, 2025 as the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continues. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
People search the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on January 8, 2025 as the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continues. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Gaza's Health Ministry Says the Palestinian Death Toll from the War Has Surpassed 46,000

People search the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on January 8, 2025 as the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continues. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
People search the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on January 8, 2025 as the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continues. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Health Ministry said Thursday, as the conflict raged into a 16th month with no end in sight.
The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians, said The Associated Press.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. It says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because the militants operate in residential areas. Israel has also repeatedly struck what it claims are militants hiding in shelters and hospitals, often killing women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza. Israeli authorities believe at least a third of them were killed in the initial attack or have died in captivity.
The war has flattened large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its 2.3 million people, with many forced to flee multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast with limited access to food and other essentials.
In recent weeks, Israel and Hamas have appeared to inch closer to an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. But the indirect talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have repeatedly stalled over the past year, and major obstacles remain.