Wildfires continue to spread in southwestern Libya

ISTANBUL

Wildfires continued to rage in southwestern Libya on Sunday, with the flames spreading to residential areas in Alawenat Oasis, local authorities said.

Hamed Mohammed Ahmed, a member of the Alawenat Oasis Municipal Council, told Anadolu that firefighting teams have been tirelessly working since dawn to extinguish the fires that broke out on Saturday.

“The flames are advancing at an accelerated pace amid a complete absence of government efforts to put out the fires,” he said.

No injuries have so far been reported in the fires.

The wildfires first broke out in agricultural areas of Alawenat Oasis on Saturday and extended to residential neighborhoods due to dry vegetation, according to the state news agency LANA.

Due to high temperatures, especially in the summer, some Libyan regions, particularly in the south and west of the country, experience recurring fires.

The most recent of these fires erupted on March 9 in the palm forests of Rebiana city in southeastern Libya.