UN Conducts Urgent Assessments of Scale of Latakia Wildfire Disaster
ARK News.. The United Nations announced that its teams are taking part in the humanitarian response efforts in coordination with Syrian authorities to assess the impact of the wildfires in rural Latakia.
According to the UN News Center, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a press briefing in New York:
“UN teams are on the ground conducting urgent assessments to determine the scale of the disaster and identify immediate humanitarian needs.”
The wildfires in northern rural Latakia have so far damaged over 10,000 hectares in the region’s worst-ever wave of fires. Firefighting teams face major challenges including harsh weather conditions, strong winds, rugged terrain, the presence of landmines and war remnants, and the former regime’s neglect of forest management and lack of firebreaks—all of which have hindered containment efforts, according to officials.
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