Unknown forces, taking advantage of the epidemic, are setting fire to the Balkans
Severe fires engulfed the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the unique Fruška Gora National Park in Serbia. Moreover, the authorities of both countries are convinced that they are dealing with arson.
Balkan media reported this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The last major fire on the territory of the Fruska Gora National Park broke out the day before, on April 9, and became the seventh since April 4. Park officials note that they have a general scenario - fires occur exclusively after the start of curfew, which suggests that the cause of the incidents is the human factor.
the area around Kuti Livac, north of Mostar, is burning
“We try to respond immediately when a fire occurs, inform all competent authorities and jointly look for the causes, with all available forces to help the competent authorities in identifying the causes of the fire, we are the first on the line of defense,” employees of the national park administration commented on the situation. “We ask everyone, both authorities and local residents, to help us, as the situation could get out of control if the arson continues.”
NP “Frushka Gora” is on fire
According to experts, the fires occur in areas where rare plants, herbs and animal species grow, which in Vojvodina (autonomous region of Serbia) are endangered and protected by the laws of the country. Therefore, patrol crews of employees of the Frushka Gora NP are now constantly on duty in the park.
a patrol car of national park workers near the fire
A much more dangerous situation has developed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, neighboring Serbia, where the area of fires is becoming wider every day. Things got to the point that the country's government requested international assistance in the fight against the fire.
helicopter extinguishes the vicinity of Mostar
“During the emergency situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which also affected Bosnia and Herzegovina, a large number of fires occurred,” the Council of Ministers of BiH said in a statement. “The resources available to the competent civil protection authorities and defense institutions of BiH are insufficient to extinguish them.”
The Federal Office of Civil Protection fears that as forests and open spaces are engulfed in fire, the fires could spread to neighboring areas of BiH. So far, fires have been observed only north of the city of Mostar. In turn, the BiH Ministry of Internal Affairs has already come to the conclusion that the disaster was caused by deliberate arson, so they are asking witnesses of suspicious activity to report to the police using special telephone numbers.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.