Syria requests EU help to fight forest fires

Syria officially requested European Union support on Tuesday in the fight against devastating fires affecting the coastal province of Latakia, one of the most forested regions of the country. The request comes in the context in which the flames, which broke out six days ago, have already destroyed approximately 100 square kilometers of forests and agricultural land, equivalent to more than 3% of the country's forest area, according to the United Nations (UN).

• International interventions and difficult conditions

According to the Syrian Minister for Emergencies and Disasters, Raed al-Saleh, aircraft from Cyprus are expected for aerial extinguishing operations, while teams from Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon are already operating on the spot. However, the intervention is made difficult by multiple factors: Extremely high temperatures, typical of heat waves intensified by climate change; Strong winds, which spread the outbreaks very quickly; Rough terrain, with mountainous terrain that is difficult to access; The presence of mines, a dangerous legacy of the armed conflict that has devastated Syria over the past decade.

• Humanitarian situation

The UN estimates that around 5,000 people have been affected, many of them evacuated from towns and villages in the Latakia region, such as Ghassaniyeh, where rescuers, helped by locals, managed to save women and children from the flames. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported so far.

• A disaster aggravated by climate change

The fires in Latakia come against a backdrop of extreme weather conditions, exacerbated by global change. In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that Syria was going through its most severe drought in six decades. Unusually high temperatures and lack of rainfall have turned forests and farmland into highly flammable materials, favoring the rapid spread of fires.

• Fragile geopolitical context

These events are taking place in a Syria still marked by over a decade of armed conflict, which has ruined the intervention infrastructure, weakened the state's capacity to respond to disasters and amplified the social and economic vulnerability of the population. Although President Bashar al-Assad has no longer been officially recognized by some European states, the Syrian authorities still maintain diplomatic relations with some EU countries, which has allowed the activation of requests for assistance through official channels.

The fires in Latakia represent a new alarm signal regarding the impact of the climate crisis in vulnerable and geopolitically unstable regions. The situation highlights the urgency of strengthening local response capacities, as well as the need for rapid and effective international cooperation, regardless of the political context. European aid, if approved, could provide essential support both in fighting the flames and in post-disaster reconstruction efforts.