4 hours agoEU helps Turkey fight fires
Periskopi(5 years ago)
(5 years ago)The European Union has launched assistance for Turkey on Monday, until even volunteers have joined firefighters to face forest fires, which have left eight people dead and stepped up pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan. Forest fires are expanding into Turkish tourist regions, respectively, on the Mediterranean coast [...]
Forest fires are being expanded to Turkish tourist regions, on the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts respectively, while driving tourists from hotels away.
But this situation has also exposed Erdogan, who faces elections within two years with a new wave of criticism of his response to the situation.
The Turkish leader has been criticised because over the weekend he has been seen throwing tea bags at local residents, during a visit to areas most affected by fires.
The government has also announced that there have been no preliminary plans for extinguishing the fires, and has had to depend on foreign aid to deal with the flames.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has thanked Brussels on Monday for sending a plane from Croatia and two from Spain.
Firefighters have faced several local fires Monday on the Greek island of Rhodes, as well as in parts of Italy and Spain.
European Union data has shown that this year's fire season has been markedly more devastating than the previous years.
High temperatures and winds are believed to be the key cause of these fires.
