ATHENS: Dozens of firefighters were battling on Saturday to stop a wildfire from spreading to a nature reserve in a mountainous forest area on the outskirts of the Greek capital, the fire service said.
About 80 firefighters assisted by 10 water-carrying planes were trying to control the fire on Mount Parnitha, some 20 km (12 miles) north of Athens, which was being fueled by gale-force winds, a fire brigade official said.
A thick cloud of smoke could be seen in the sky over Athens, which is flanked by mountains, but a local governor said no homes were threatened by the fire.
“The situation is stable so far,” a deputy governor for part of Athens, Costas Zobos, told state television.
With hot, windy conditions across much of the country, authorities advised people to stay out of forest areas. Winds are not expected to weaken before Sunday, meteorologists said.
Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but they have become more devastating in recent years as summers have become hotter, drier and windier, which scientists link to the effects of climate change.
After last summer’s deadly forest fires and following its hottest winter on record, Greece developed a new doctrine, which includes deploying an extra fire truck to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.
A big part of Mount Parnitha’s nature reserve, full of pines and fir trees, was destroyed by a large fire in 2007.
Wildfire fanned by strong wind rages in forest area near Athens
https://arab.news/9wkty
Wildfire fanned by strong wind rages in forest area near Athens
- About 80 firefighters assisted by 10 water-carrying planes were trying to control the fire on Mount Parnitha
- A thick cloud of smoke could be seen in the sky over Athens
Locals in Niger say ‘terrorists’ killed 25 near Mali
- “Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor said
- The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group
ABIDJAN: Local sources in western Niger said “terrorists” killed 25 members of a militia in several villages near the Mali border.
“Twenty-five self-defense militia fell on Thursday in terrorist ambushes,” a former mayor in the commune of Anzourou told AFP — a toll confirmed by a leader from a local civil association.
“There were 25 young self-defense fighters who lost their lives and three others who were wounded and evacuated” to hospitals in Tillaberi town and Niamey, the latter source said.
The surrounding Tillaberi region is an area of operations of the Sahel branch of the Daesh militant group.
Conflict-monitoring NGO ACLED said that in 2025 Tillaberi became the deadliest region in the central Sahel, with more than 1,200 deaths recorded.
It blamed the violence mainly on the Daesh in the Sahel group, followed by the Nigerien army and the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
The association source said the victims came from four neighboring villages — Doukou Makani, Doukou Djinde, Doukou Saraou and Doukou Koirategui.
The Anzourou district is made up of around 50 villages and hamlets in Tillaberi, which borders near the area between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, long the scene of deadly militant attacks.
Niger has been run by a military junta since a coup in July 2023.
For the last decade, the country has been blighted by deadly militant attacks. Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 2,000 deaths, according to ACLED.
With the Nigerien army struggling to contain the attacks, it has tolerated the creation of self-defense militias by villagers, leading to bloody clashes with militants.
In December last year, the military regime in Niamey announced a “general mobilization” and the “requisition” of people and property to better fight the Islamists.
Niger has created a 6,000-strong joint force with Mali and Burkina Faso, countries also run by the military and facing militant violence.
