ZAGREB: Firefighters in southern Croatia were on high alert Sunday in fear that expected strong winds could rekindle blazes in the Balkan nation.
Crews, with the help of water bombers, managed to get control Saturday over wildfires on the southern Adriatic coast, after a series of blazes started in recent days.
The fires, near Croatia’s second largest city Split, that started Saturday morning close to the coastal village of Pisak was put under control but were still smoldering.
They have burnt 300 hectares (740 acres) and dozen of houses, authorities said.
According to the Split-Dalmatia county firefighting commander, Ivan Kovacevic during the night several small fires were put down by the firefighters.
“The damage is huge, but it could have been bigger having given the number of structures that were threatened,” Kovacevic said.
No death have been report, while one firefighter and some civilians have suffered minor injuries.
According to Civil protection headquarters at least 94 people, mostly tourists were evacuated in Omis, but late Saturday they returned to their accommodation.
Deputy prefect of Split-Dalmatia county, Stipe Cogelja said the village of Marusic on the Adriatic coast suffered the most damages, adding it was “pure luck” that no one had died.
Police said they are “intensively investigating” the possibility of arson in the fires and called on the citizens to help by immediately reporting any suspicious behavior.
Winds fuel fears of new Croatia wildfires
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Winds fuel fears of new Croatia wildfires
US intensifies airstrikes in Somalia
- The US has long been involved in the Horn of Africa country and has been targeting Al-Shabab and Daesh militants since the mid-2000s
ABUJA: The US has picked up the pace of its airstrikes against Al-Shabab and Daesh in Somalia this year, according to US Africa Command data.
The US has long been involved in the Horn of Africa country and has been targeting Al-Shabab and Daesh militants since the mid-2000s after the former first emerged.
Since Jan. 1, the US has conducted 23 strikes in Somalia, Africom spokeswoman Major Mahalia Frost said.
The “uptick” since the New Year, Frost said, is related to a broader US push against Daesh-linked militants on the continent, which included Christmas Day strikes in Nigeria.
In the last year, “we’ve gotten a lot more aggressive and (are) working with partners to target, kinetically, the threats, mainly Daesh,” Africom Lt. Gen. John Brennan said last week on the sidelines of a US-Nigeria security meeting in the Nigerian capital.
Following the Nigeria strikes on what Washington and Abuja said were targets linked to Daesh in Sahel province, the Pentagon has pledged increased intelligence sharing with their Nigerian counterparts.
“From Somalia to Nigeria, the problem set is connected.
So we’re trying to take it apart and then provide partners with the information they need,” Brennan said.
“It’s been about more enabling partners and then providing them equipment and capabilities with less restrictions so that they can be more successful.”
Frost added that 23 bombardments in Somalia this year “also includes strikes against Al-Shabab.”
President Donald Trump sharply escalated US strikes in Somalia during his first term, ordering 219 strikes and ground operations over four years — compared to 48 by Barack Obama in eight years.
