Turkey

ISTANBUL, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities on Friday strengthened security measures in the southwestern province of Mugla as a wildfire advanced toward a thermal power plant.

Firefighters have chopped down several trees around the Yenikoy Thermal Power Plant when the fire was about five km from the station, according to the Mugla municipality.

Gendarmerie forces closed a highway toward the power plant while aerial firefighting responses to the fire continued.

05 Aug 2021; MEMO: The 35-year-old coal-fired Kemerkoy Power Station in south-west Turkey's Mugla region and a nearby town on the Aegean Sea were evacuated late yesterday as deadly wildfires reached the plant.

Babies, children and people over the age of 65 were removed from the area, local media reported.They have been taken to shelters.

In a statement the Kemerkoy Electric Distribution Company said the power plant is not at risk of explosions.

MUGLA, Turkey (AP) — A coal-fueled power plant in southwest Turkey and nearby residential areas were being evacuated Wednesday evening as flames from a wildfire reached the plant, a mayor and local reporters said as sirens from the plant could be heard blaring.

03 Aug 2021; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday stressed the importance of respecting the rule of law, and guaranteeing freedom, during a call with his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied, Turkish diplomatic sources reported.

Erdogan told Saied that stability, peace, and serenity in Tunisia are important and benefit the whole region, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

ISTANBUL (AP) — More than 100 wildfires have been brought under control in Turkey, according to officials Sunday, as firefighters worked to battle blazes that continued in popular seaside destinations.

The Minister of Forestry and Agriculture, Bekir Pakdemirli, tweeted that five fires were continuing in the tourist destinations of Antalya and Mugla, while 107 fires were “under control.”

The fires in Antalya were continuing in two districts. In Mugla, they continued in the tourist destination of Marmaris, as well as other areas.

01 Aug 2021; AA: Azerbaijan on Saturday provided 53 fire trucks to Turkey, where forest fires in the past few days have led to deaths as well as material damage.

The Emergency Situations Ministry sent the vehicles meant to fight large fires, as well as 220 personnel by land. Earlier, 100 Azerbaijani firefighters arrived in the Turkish province of Mugla.

While the trucks will reach the affected areas in two days, Baku will also send a helicopter on Sunday. Many other countries have also offered help.

01 Aug 2021; MEMO: 98 of 107 forest fires in Turkey are under control, the nation's Agriculture and Forestry Minister said late Saturday, reports Anadolu Agency.

Efforts to contain nine blazes are still ongoing, Bekir Pakdemirli said during a news conference at a fire management center in the Degirmenyani district of southwestern Mugla province.

Pakdemirli warned that caution will be needed to combat the massive fires on Sunday when humidity is expected to drop 10%.

MANAVGAT, July 31 (Reuters) - Days after a raging wildfire in southern Turkey drove his family from the home they lived in for four decades, Mehmet Demir returned on Saturday to discover a burnt-out building, charred belongings and ashes.

Bedsprings, a ladder, metal chairs and some kitchenware were the only things left identifiable after some of the worst fires in years tore through the region, with several still burning four days after they erupted on Wednesday.

30 July 2021; MEMO: In a phone call on Friday, Turkish and Afghan defense ministers discussed the security of Hamid Karzai International Airport, Turkish authorities said, Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said Hulusi Akar and his Afghan counterpart Bismillah Khan Mohammadi also addressed the regional security and bilateral relations.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The death toll in a string of wildfires raging in southern Turkey rose to four, officials said Friday, as fire crews continued to battle blazes that burned down homes and forced people to evacuate settlements and beach resorts.

Firefighters were still tackling wildfires in 20 locations in six provinces in Turkey’s Mediterranean and southern Aegean region, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said. More than 50 others wildfires that broke out since Wednesday amid strong winds and scorching heat were extinguished.