Ehden, Lebanon - Wild fires raged across vast areas of
forest in north Lebanon as choppers from nearby Cyprus helped combat
the flames threatening population centres.
Civil defence rescuers said no casualties have been reported in
the fires that broke out Tuesday evening and developed early
Wednesday across the dry land after a long summer.
Lebanese army helicopters and Cypriot choppers worked throughout
the day to help combat the blaze spreading to populated areas in the
Ehden region.
According to an eyewitness some residents of the Ehden region
slept outside their homes because the fires were close to their
homes.
Police blocked traffic along the Zghorta-Ehden highway, which
penetrates the region's forests and olive groves to avoid civilian
casualties.
'We are carrying out a double mission, on the one hand we combat
the forest fires and, on the other, we try to prevent the blaze from
reaching population centres,' a civil defence worker said.
He attributed the fires to the dry land after a hot summer.
But Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa pointed an accusing finger at
arsonists.
'The big question is: how did these fires start late at night and
in areas that are not linked to the road network,' Sabaa told Voice
of Lebanon radio.
'The fires we think from initial reports are intentional,' Sabaa
added.
'God is the best firefighter,' said Fadi Mouawad a resident of
Ehden.
In the Muslim villages of north Lebanon the elderly clergymen
called for special 'rain prayers.'
Wild Fires have Swept across more than 6,000 acres of forest land
earlier this month killing one person and injuring scores.
Italian planes were brought in the country to help put out the
raging fires.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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