Sharjah24 – AFP: Suhail Deeb was eager to harvest his olives before sweeping forest fires that ravaged parts of Syria at the weekend left him with nothing but charred trunks and branches.
Blazes broke out Friday in the provinces of Homs, Tartus and Latakia, destroying over 9,000 hectares of agricultural and forested land, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The wildfires killed three people in Latakia and displaced thousands across the three provinces, OCHA said.
Authorities on Sunday said that the fires had been brought under control.
A day later, smoke still rose from the hills around Latakia and Tartus, previously covered with fields, groves and healthy forests.
The olive farmer, like all Syrians, has been hit hard by a biting economic crisis that has seen the Syrian pound plummet against the dollar.
They was eagerly waiting for this season's harvest which was to begin this month so he could produce some olive oil to sell in the market.
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