Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition – Syria
Department of Media and Communications
September 09, 2020
The wildfires sweeping across the provinces of Latakia, Tartous, Hama, and Homs have ravaged thousands of hectares of forests and caused an exodus of people from their towns and villages. Online photos and videos showed part of the ongoing disaster that has laid waste to thousands of hectares of forests extending from the borders of Turkey in the north to the Lebanese border to the south.
The wildfires ravaged large swathes of forests and farmlands in the regions of Slinfah and Masyaf. Experts and former government employees are adamant that most wildfires that swept the region over the past decades were deliberate and came in the context of looting, theft and corruption in favor of influential individuals, shabiha and mafia leaders who set forests on fire with the aim of acquiring land and build palaces and villas.
Reports indicate that some wildfires erupted as a result of shelling by the Assad regime forces on the Lattakia mountains. Indeed, Syria will remain at the mercy of the Assad regime’s crimes, corruption and atrocities. The regime will continue to devise more methods of looting, theft and sabotage, not to mention neglect, mismanagement and failure to deal with crises. This reality will not change unless the international community assumes its responsibility with regard to this gangster regime.
It is imperative that the international community and international actors shoulder their responsibilities with regards to the regime’s crimes against the Syrian people, the land of Syria and its future, and the ongoing violations of international laws and UN Security Council resolutions.
