Widespread wildfires rage in southwestern Libya

ISTANBUL

Wildfires have ravaged Alawenat Oasis in southwestern Libya, with the flames spreading to residential neighborhoods, local media said on Saturday.

The fires, which first broke out on Saturday, are out of control, causing panic among residents, the state news agency LANA reported.

“The fires started in the farms due to high temperatures before quickly spreading to nearby residential areas, amid a clear absence of specialized firefighting teams,” the agency said.

Saleh Sawsam, head of the local youth council in Alawenat, appealed to security and military authorities to urgently intervene to control the fires, which he described as "threatening an imminent disaster.”

"We are currently relying on sewage trucks and their pumps in a primitive attempt to extinguish the fires, after all previous calls to provide specialized equipment failed."

Sawsam affirmed that the city is going through very critical conditions.

“The lack of capabilities increases the suffering of the residents, and every passing minute leads to more property losses."

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 broke out on March 9 in the palm forests of Rebiana city in southeastern Libya.