ISTANBUL: Firefighters were tackling a wildfire for a third day on Friday in southwest Turkey, where municipal officials have warned that national authorities are unprepared even after last year’s devastating fires revealed a lack of planes and personnel.
Scenes of burning woodland near the Aegean coastal resort of Marmaris since Tuesday have sparked fears of a repeat of last year’s fires that ravaged some 140,000 hectares (345,950 acres) across the region.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government was criticized by local residents and opposition parties for being unprepared to fight last year’s fires. It responded by saying the wildfires were the worst in Turkey’s history.
Officials from Marmaris and the nearby resort Bodrum, both of which experienced the worst of the fires last year, have said the government is not sufficiently prepared this year either.
Marmaris municipal council member Ali Kirli said last year’s fires should have been considered “warning flares” to prepare better for this summer. “The fire season is approaching, but there are no planes in the air, there are no workers on the ground,” he told Reuters before the fire broke out on Tuesday.
“Fire-fighting planes and helicopters should be purchased, and a fleet of aircraft should be established.”
Marmaris Mayor Mehmet Oktay said the region was allocated one helicopter as of May and asked for an increase. Since the fire began, he has requested night-vision helicopters to tackle the flames at night, a demand echoed by Bodrum Mayor Ahmet Aras.
Aras also said planes should be deployed to the area and fire brigades should be strengthened.
The government has denied the accusations that it was unprepared this year, with Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu accusing the opposition of spreading lies. Kirli, Oktay and Aras are all from the opposition CHP.
The forestry authority’s budget was raised by 220 percent from last year to 2.4 billion lira ($138.15 million) and officials say night-vision helicopters are due to be delivered in July.
Wildfire rages on Turkish coast where officials warned of vulnerabilities
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Wildfire rages on Turkish coast where officials warned of vulnerabilities
- More than 2,500 firefighters, aided by water-dropping planes and helicopters, were deployed to fight the blaze that erupted on Tuesday in the Bordubet region
Iran’s president says rioters must not disrupt society
- Pezeshkian accused the US and Israel of “trying to escalate this unrest with regard to the economic discussion and solutions we are working on”
TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday said “rioters” should not be allowed to disrupt society, in his first remarks after three nights of intensified protests against the country’s authorities.
Pezeshkian, in an interview with state TV on Sunday, said “protesting is the people’s right,” but echoed authorities in drawing a line between outcry over Iran’s dire economy and “rioters” they allege are backed by the US and Israel.
“The people (of Iran) should not allow rioters to disrupt society. The people should believe that we (the government) want to establish justice,” he told state broadcaster IRIB.
Pezeshkian called on Iranians to “come together and not let these people riot” on the streets.
“If people have a concern, we will hear them. It is our duty to hear them and solve their problems. However, our highest duty is not to allow rioters to come and disrupt society,” he said.
Pezeshkian accused the US and Israel of “trying to escalate this unrest with regard to the economic discussion and solutions we are working on.”
“They have taken some people here inside and abroad and trained them. They brought terrorists in from abroad into the country,” he said, calling those who had set the mosque on fire “not human.”
State TV has aired images of buildings, including a mosque on fire, with authorities saying members of the security forces have been killed.
US President Donald Trump has said his country “stands ready to help” demonstrators and threatened new military action against Iranian authorities “if they start killing people.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he hoped Iran would soon be freed from what he described as the “yoke of tyranny.”
