Wildfires sweep through forests in drought-hit Syrian coast in major test for new government

CNN Massive wildfires have torn through Syria s coastal mountain region of Jabal Turkman since Thursday destroying thousands of hectares of forest and overwhelming emergency services Abdel Kafi Kayyal director of civil defense in Lattakia province announced efforts to control the fires have been hampered by strong winds rugged terrain and the danger of landmines left behind from years of war The fires come as Syria s new governing body tries to drive the country s recovery after more than a decade of war and crippling sanctions with basic services non-existent in multiple parts of the country The fires have burned along a line of -kilometers miles cutting off roads and forcing thousands to flee their homes They have also left particular areas without power Drone video demonstrated fires advancing along a broad front in rugged territory occasionally flaring up as they encounter tinder-dry woodland This fire is extremely formidable Kayyal notified CNN on Saturday adding that reinforcements have been called in from across the country The fires have now spread into parts of Tartous province despite the efforts of more than firefighting units Syrian personnel have appealed for international assistance Turkey has sent two helicopters and firefighting vehicles and on Sunday Jordanian civil defense teams crossed the limit to join efforts to contain the fires Satellite records from NASA s FIRMS institution indicates the burned area now exceeds square kilometers an area larger than the capital Damascus According to Syrian regime figures from the country s forest cover stands at around square kilometers suggesting that these fires have consumed more than of the country s total forested land in just three days The country is also in the grip of a long-running drought The Carnegie Endowment Middle East venture released last year that the entire Euphrates Basin region particularly the southern and eastern desert areas of Syria had suffered from low rainfall and exceptionally high temperatures for four years