Wildfires Rage Across Syria

Thousands of acres of Syrian farmland were lost to the wildfires. (Wikimedia Commons)

More than 150 wildfires raged across Syria this week, killing at least three people and hospitalizing 70. So far, the fires have displaced 25,000. Syrian Agricultural Minister Mohammad Hassan Qatana remarked on the unprecedented scale of the blazes, telling a local radio station that “for the first time in its history, Syria is witnessing [multiple] fires in a single day.”

These conflagrations have only added to the plights of Syria, a country which has weathered years of civil war and a subsequent humanitarian crisis. This conflict, which has pitted rebel groups supported by Saudi Arabia against the Iranian-backed government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, has decimated the country. To date, the civil war has internally displaced 6.2 million people, forced 5.2 million from the country, and killed at least 380,000. 

Syria’s agricultural sector has had to start grappling with the damages wrought by these historic wildfires. The blazes scorched an estimated “9,000 hectares of agricultural and forested land,” a loss felt profoundly by farmers such as 61-year old Suhail Deeb. Deeb laments, “I used to have 100 trees, but now nothing is left.” The overwhelming impact of the wildfires on the country’s agricultural sector, which represents about 20 percent of Syrian GDP, dampens any hope for swift economic recovery. These fires will also exacerbate the country’s ongoing shortage of essential supplies, especially wheat.

Other countries in the region have also experienced recent upticks in wildfire activity. According to George Abu Musa, head of operations for Lebanon’s civil defense, the country has reported more than 100 fires since Thursday. Musa has had to mobilize 80 percent of his personnel to combat the flames.

Israel has also reported several fires in its northern and central territories and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, causing temperatures to soar. These conditions have forced at least 5,000 people to evacuate as 13 fire teams fight to control the blaze.

During a public appearance in the city of Latakia on Tuesday, Al-Assad acknowledged the severity of the fires, which he called a “humanitarian, economic and environmental… catastrophe.” He also claimed that “the state will bear the largest burden in offering support.” However, activists like Mohammad Al Neser have warned that this promise holds little water. Al Neser took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to analyze photos released by the president following his public appearance, noting that Al-Assad’s security personnel and staff seemed to outnumber the civilians. Al Neser concluded that this appearance aimed at nothing more than creating the illusion of support from the Syrian populace.