Türkiye assists North Macedonia in fighting forest fires

Türkiye sent two airplanes and a helicopter to North Macedonia to support the fight against forest fires, Turkish agriculture and forestry minister has said.

"We are on duty for the forests, our common heritage. To support the fight against the ongoing forest fires, 2 of our planes and one helicopter went to North Macedonia," Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said on X on Monday.

"I convey my best wishes to the people of North Macedonia and wish our teams success in their duties," he added.

North Macedonia's director of the Crisis Management Center, Stojance Angelov, announced that aid from Türkiye arrived at the airport in Skopje.

Seven wildfires swept across North Macedonia on Sunday and prompted the government to declare a crisis situation. More than 100 hectares of forest had been scorched during the weekend despite the efforts of firefighters.

The state of emergency on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia is for 30 days, said the government in a statement.

Besides alerting the medical staff, the government also approved the engagement of the police and army in the fight against the wildfires.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski announced earlier that help in the fight against fires will soon arrive from Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Türkiye.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said they have received a request for help from North Macedonia. Dacic said that Serbia will send helicopters to put out the fire.

Prime Minister Mickoski said Monday that he expects wildfires to be put under control "tomorrow or the day after tomorrow at the latest."

The country on Monday banned movement in forests from 6 am to 8 pm.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said that the ban will last until the wildfire risk is reduced.

Countries of the region, including North Macedonia and Serbia, issued an extreme weather alert last week.