Turkish, Jordanian Support Mobilised to Extinguish Syrian Coastal Wildfires

Latakia, Syria, wildfire.

Asharq Al-Awsat

Syria’s Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management, Raed al-Saleh, announced on Sunday, 6 July 2025, that Jordan has confirmed its readiness to provide both aerial and specialised ground support to assist in extinguishing the wildfires sweeping across the Syrian coast.

In a statement published on the social media platform X, Saleh said the move followed coordination between Syrian and Jordanian authorities, facilitated by Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He further revealed that an agreement had also been reached with Türkiye’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, İbrahim Yumaklı, to enhance coordination on the ground, beginning on Sunday morning.

According to Saleh, Türkiye will increase the number of deployed firefighting teams and aircraft, in a manner that does not compromise its own emergency response capacity, to support the Syrian efforts in containing the large-scale blaze.

A joint field operations room has been established to respond to the rapidly expanding wildfires in Syria’s coastal forests—fires exacerbated by extreme weather, strong winds, and war remnants that have obstructed containment efforts.

Saleh noted that several active Syrian civil society organisations have joined the operations room and are now providing logistical and field support. Measures include the deployment of water tankers to assist firefighting teams, the mobilisation of trained volunteer groups, and the use of heavy machinery to construct firebreaks and prevent the further spread of the flames.

Abdel-Kafi Kayyal, Director of the Emergency and Disaster Management Directorate in Latakia, told the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the current wildfire is among the most dangerous the region has faced in recent memory.

Kayyal said firefighting teams are making maximum efforts to prevent the blaze from reaching nearby villages and populated areas. He added that the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management is coordinating the mobilisation of reinforcements from other provinces, as well as tracked vehicles from various ministries to open access roads and isolate fire hotspots.

He urged residents, tourists, and farmers to exercise the utmost caution and to avoid lighting any fires during leisure or agricultural activities.

Efforts to fully contain the wildfire are ongoing around the clock.

The fires first broke out last Thursday in the mountainous regions of al-Basit, Qastal Maaf, and Jabal Turkman in Latakia governorate, western Syria.



PUKMEDIA