The Latakia fire brigade said they were “facing the largest series of fires seen in Latakia province in years”. Massive forest fires in war-torn Syria this week have killed at least two people and burned swaths of land, state media and officials said, as blazes also hit neighbouring Lebanon. Separately on Friday, authorities reported several fires across northern and central Israel and the occupied West Bank as temperatures soared, forcing thousands to evacuate. The two countries held talks this week in Khartoum over the issue. Damascus ally Iran sent in a firefighting plane Wednesday carrying 40 tons of water to help fight the fires in the hilly woodlands of Latakia and Hama provinces, in northwestern and central Syria respectively, state news agency SANA said. Disputes have been concentrated on agricultural land in Al-Fashqa, which falls within Sudan’s international boundaries but has long been settled by Ethiopian farmers. The town’s local hospital was also surrounded by flames, according to local media reports. But Hama governor Mohammed Al-Hazouri said the blaze had ravaged eight square kilometers (three square miles) of agricultural land in his province alone. (AFP), A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on September 8, 2020 shows fires on a hill in Hazzur, in the western countryside of Hama Governorate. President Trump claims credit for cease-fire in Syria Oct. 24, 201901:49 But Gen. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which controlled the … MOSCOW (AP) — The presidents of Russia and Turkey said they reached agreement on a cease-fire to begin at midnight Thursday in northwestern Syria, where escalating fighting had threatened to put forces from the two countries into direct conflict. AP’S PREVIOUS STORY IS BELOW. The health ministry said two people died in Latakia province on Friday as a result of the fires, and that 70 people in the area were taken to hospital suffering from breathing difficulties. Days after Lebanon’s 2019 fires, mass protests broke out, triggered by proposed tax hikes but quickly transforming into months-long demonstrations against the ruling class, deemed by protesters as inept and corrupt. Which countries have reported new variants of COVID-19? Wildfires across parts of the country have so far killed two people and forced many to flee; Lebanon and Israel also hit by blazes. Syria’s war has killed more than 380,000 people, displaced millions from their homes, and decimated the country’s economy. This indicates that Syria's aerial defense forces fire a substantial number of missile barrages at every attacking plane. One man was killed when US troops in north-east Syria returned fire after their convoy came under attack near a checkpoint manned by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday. CHECK BACK SOON FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. “We believe in dialogue to solve any problem,” Sudan’s information minister, Faisal Salih, told Reuters. Pence says Erdogan knows Trump 'says what he means' after Syria cease-fire. Published: 22 Dec 2020 . Summer fires, sometimes sparked by accident and generally not linked to the war, are common in Syria, but residents have said this year’s are worse than usual. “But our army will do its duty to take back all our land. Syrian state television on Saturday morning broadcast scenes from the affected areas, where firefighters were working to extinguish the blazes. Among those affected by the devastating fires are landowners and farmers who rely on the agriculture sector to get by. ; The terms: The Syrian Kurds/Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) must … Ahead of the talks this week, Ethiopia’s foreign minister, Ato Demeke Mekonnen said the Sudanese military had carried out attacks beginning on Nov. 9. On average, the Syrians have fired about 100 missiles a year at IAF aircraft. State news agency SANA quoted an unnamed Syrian military official as saying a U.S. helicopter gunship attacked an army checkpoint in the village … When will it end! State news agency SANA quoted Bassem Douba, director of the forestry department in Latakia’s agricultural department, as saying that dozens of people were evacuated from their homes in several villages. KHARTOUM: Sudan has taken control of most of the land it accuses Ethiopians of encroaching upon near the border between the two countries, the Sudanese information minister said on Saturday. The agriculture ministry said steep terrain was an obstacle to fire trucks being able to reach the fire hit areas quickly. Sudanese officials say the border was demarcated in the first years of the 20th century, and that negotiations are limited to talks over placing additional markers on the land at 2km rather than 10km intervals. Official news agency Sana said fires burned homes in the coastal city of Banias in Tartus province, as well as in Qardahah, President Bashar al-Assad’s hometown in Latakia. “Agricultural products of Ethiopian farmers are looted, their camps are vandalized, and they are also hampered from harvesting their own farms. Syria is currently suffering from an acute shortage in fuel ahead of the winter months, while power cuts have become more frequent across a country ravaged by more than nine years of war. Firefighters and civil defense crews are scrambling to contain a massive blaze that erupted overnight in the Syrian countryside in the Latakia Governorate. A number of civilians have been murdered and wounded,” he said. The government faced heavy criticism and accusations of ill-preparedness over its response to the 2019 blazes. Fires heavily damaged a building in Qardahah used as a storage for the state-owned tobacco company, part of which collapsed. © 2020 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement. The sources added that the fire, which started at about 2 P.M. on Monday, began to move rapidly, which contributed to the increase in the presence of air currents, and that the people who live near the spread of fire were forced to leave their homes while the civil defense teams were working to prevent the fire from reaching it. “The situation is crazy, there are fires everywhere,” Abu Musa told the AFP news agency. A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on September 8, 2020 shows a Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a … "But the good news is … Damascus — A Syrian was killed and another was wounded in a rare clash Wednesday between American troops and a group of government supporters who tried to block a … pic.twitter.com/tDzlreUOwd, — Danny Makki (@Dannymakkisyria) October 9, 2020. The long read The best of the long read in 2020. An overnight fire in the main silo at Syria's Mediterranean Tartous port was extinguished on Sunday, and workers were transferring its entire wheat stockpile to other locations across the country, state media said. Israeli police said in a statement firefighters and police forces evacuated 5,000 people as the fires spread for a second day on Saturday. Massive forest fires in war-torn Syria this week have killed at least two people and burned swaths of land, state media and officials said, as blazes also hit neighbouring Lebanon. (AFP). The fires raging across Syria’s north, for the second time in months, were triggered by a heatwave that is unusual for this time of the year. “Numerous fires have been put out, others brought under control, but the fires continue to rage in some areas” of Latakia, forestry official Hassan Fares told AFP. Images circulated on social media portrayed citrus and olive trees engulfed in flames in villages on the outskirts of Latakia. While U.S. military and Russian forces have come in contact at checkpoints and along highway M4 in Syria throughout 2020, on Aug. 17 U.S. and Syrian … Forest fires in Syria and neighboring Lebanon have killed two people and burned swathes of land since Thursday, state media and officials said. He was unable to identify the cause of the blazes but said wind and high temperatures were helping them spread. When in the coastal Mediterranean province, Assad pledged the government’s support to residents affected by the fires, state-run news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Suleiman Al-Khalidi November 30, 2020 Tartus - Image credit: Tatiana/AdobeStock An overnight fire in the main silo at Syria's Mediterranean Tartous … In one of the worst incidents of violence against U.S. troops deployed in northeastern Syria, a small fire appears to ignite on an armored vehicle, apparently from fire bombs lobbed at the convoy. Those people sought refuge in central Latakia and Tartus, he said. Sudanese forces had acted defensively, and clashes had subsided in the past two days, Salih said. Tensions in the border region have flared since the outbreak of conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region in early November and the arrival of more than 50,000 mainly Tigrayan refugees in eastern Sudan. Massive wildfires engulfed the Syrian countryside near Latakia and local firefighters battled to contain the blaze. There have been armed clashes between Sudanese and Ethiopian forces in recent weeks, with both sides accusing the other of instigating the violence. Latest news from Syria as covered by the Guardian. “For the first time in its history, Syria is witnessing this [large] number of fires in a single day,” Qatana said. Biden slams Trump for refusing to sign COVID relief bill, India farmers agree to meet gov’t over new laws they want revoked, China to leapfrog US as world’s biggest economy by 2028: Report, ‘We will die’: Hundreds of migrants freezing in Bosnia camp, Trump defends veto of massive US defence spending bill. “We have mobilised 80 percent of our personnel and almost all our centres in Lebanon,” he said. U.S. soldiers were seen standing in the middle of the melee, trying to disperse the crowd. Syrian commodities traders have had deposits in hundreds of millions of dollars frozen in Lebanese banks hit by a financial crisis. Dozens of fires hit Lebanon in mid-October last year, amid unusually high temperatures and strong winds. Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing local sources who requested anonymity, reported on Sunday that the targeted area was part of agricultural lands in the countryside of al … DAMASCUS: Syrian firefighters and army helicopters Wednesday battled forest fires for a seventh consecutive day in government-held areas of the war-torn country, state media said. After hours-long talks Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria. "This is a national catastrophe … humanitarian, economic and environmental," Assad said. As Assad’s ancestral home, Latakia is a political stronghold for the regime. The stuttering nature of the cease-fire raised further concerns about the United States’ waning influence on the outcome of Syria’s eight-year civil war. Stay on top of Syria latest developments on the ground with Al Jazeera’s fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated maps. Some residents helped them by carrying water in buckets and pouring them on the flames. Five Turkish soldiers were killed on Monday by Syrian regime artillery fire in the northwestern province of Idlib, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said. Fires that ravaged parts of Syria and Lebanon in recent days have been brought under control, authorities in the two countries said on Sunday.In Syria, bla India’s Madhya Pradesh state now plans ‘love jihad’ law, Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. By Morgan Phillips , John ... been able to come to an agreement on a case-fire," Pence said. US troops in Syria and allies exchanged fire with pro-Syrian regime forces By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent 8/17/2020 Cases set new records in 6 states and worldwide (AFP), A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on September 8, 2020 shows fires on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. Next door in Lebanon, meanwhile, there have been more than 100 fires across the country since Thursday, according to George Abu Musa, head of operations for the country’s civil defence. (AFP), A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on September 8, 2020 shows security forces walking on a burnt hill Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Hama Governorate, during fires. Sana via Reuters American Coalition forces on patrol in Syria exchanged small arms fire with pro-Syrian regime gunmen at a checkpoint while on patrol in north eastern Syria, with the situation now de-escalated, according to a U.S. military spokesperson and a U.S. military source. 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A Syrian Army helicopter has been drafted in to assist the operation. According to reports from the Baniyas Refinery, the fire broke out at one of the sections of the site, as a result of a technical failure inside the unit. A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on September 8, 2020 shows a Syrian man attempting to put off a fire on a hill in Ain Halaqim, in the western countryside of Syria's Hama governorate. Israel says airstrikes targeted military sites in Syria after rockets fired at Golan Heights Watchdog reports 10 killed, seven of which said to be Iranian, Hezbollah militants US imposes more sanctions on Syria AhlulBayt News Agency 04:35 23-Dec-20 Females in Raqqa work for women’s rights after Islamic State rule Kurdistan24 02:46 23-Dec-20 U.S. slaps sanctions against Syrian individuals, entities People's Daily 02:06 23-Dec-20 Syria is at “high risk” of being unable to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Monday, reiterating calls for a “complete, immediate nationwide ceasefire” to enable an all-out-effort to counter the march of the new coronavirus. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed blamed “parties with hidden motives to create hostility and suspicion between peoples” for the violence, in a statement issued on Thursday. There have been no reports of casualties in Lebanon. They will likely cause considerable financial damage amid a deep economic crisis crippling the country. #Syria is engulfed in flames, large swathes of land devastated, houses destroyed, little or no support, even from allied countries. – The Baniyas Refinery in the Syrian coastal governorate of Tartous caught on fire, Thursday, requiring civil defense teams to rush to the site to push out the flames. There was no immediate data for how large an area had been affected overall. State media has published repeated images of billowing smoke above tree tops and charred vegetation. It said hundreds of hectares had burned in the countryside of Syria’s coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces, and in the central Homs province. Currently our army has taken back between 60% and 70% of Sudanese land.” News and stories about the country, people and politics December 2020. At least four firefighting teams were dispatched from the capital, Damascus, to assist in putting out the blazes. Israel Strikes Syria Following Rocket Fire; 10 Syrian, Iranian, Hezbollah Militants Said Killed . “Sudanese intelligence reports confirmed that the organization, training and arming of the forces that attacked were not militias but regular forces,” he added. The latest: Vice President Mike Pence said Turkey has agreed to a ceasefire in Syria. Abu Musa said most of the blazes had been extinguished but some were still burning in the mountainous Chouf region in the south, and in Akkar in the north. Russian, Turkish presidents announce Syria cease-fire World. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Dozens of fires were burning, including “45 in Latakia and 33 in Tartus”, Syria’s Agriculture Minister Mohammed Hassan Qatana told a radio station on Friday. Syrian state television on Saturday morning broadcast scenes from the affected areas, where firefighters were working to extinguish the blazes. Multiple US troops were injured in a collision with a Russian military convoy in eastern Syria Tuesday, several US officials tell CNN. Military helicopters were assisting firefighters in “hard-to-reach” areas, he added.