Efforts in Syria to contain wildfires continue in the north-western coastal areas of Mashqita.
Firefighters and helicopters worked to spray the blazes near the Latakia countryside, which have been raging since Wednesday, amid high temperatures that are affecting many countries around the Mediterranean.
Raging wildfires in Syria's Latakia province
Syria's White Helmet emergency response group released video showing raging wildfires in the Idlib countryside on Thursday and Friday.
The video showed White Helmet teams tackling the fires at night.
Syria's Agriculture Minister Mohamed Hassan Qatna said most of the wildfires were “well controlled”.
“Most of the fires have been well controlled,” he said.
“There are two to three locations. We dealt with them with all available capabilities. All assets to put out the fires have been secured, but the spread of fire is related to the speed and direction of the wind.”
Rising heat as well as erratic rainfall have been impacting Syria in recent years, shrinking the country's wheat crop 75 per cent from around four million tonnes per year before its civil war.
Temperatures have reached 40°C in parts of the country this month.
