ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The government’s response to a fire that has raged across several villages in the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir (Amed) in southeast Turkey is “insufficient,” a pro-Kurdish party said on Friday, calling for the deployment of helicopters.
The fire has been burning since 10 am and is threatening several villages, according to Abdulselam Akinci, Rudaw’s reporter on the ground. The rugged terrain and winds have made it difficult for firefighters to bring it under control.
Diyarbakir municipality said their teams were trying to put out the blaze, but that the terrain and conditions have made it "impossible" to intervene.
The local government is led by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which said in a statement that the fire is growing fast and the ground intervention has proven “insufficient.” The party called on the government to "immediately" deploy helicopters.
“Silence is unacceptable while our forests, agricultural lands, and villages are burning. This negligence is costing the lives, nature, and livelihoods of the people!” it said.
The fire spread to the neighboring Adiyaman (Semsur) province but local authorities there said they had been able to bring it under control.
No casualties have been reported.
Turkey has recently faced a series of devastating wildfires, driven by record-breaking heatwaves and strong winds. The blazes have forced mass evacuations and resulted in multiple casualties.
