Wildfires cause fatalities, damage in southeast Turkiye — minister

Wildfires have claimed lives and inflicted widespread damage in southeastern Turkiye, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca declared on Friday The minister, in a statement on his X account, said five people met their fate and 44 others suffered injuries, including five in critical condition, due to the flames, raging in Yazici in Diyarbakir, Koksal, the villages of Yojibaij and Wikilner in Mardin. Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement the blazes had first erupted in Koksal late on Thursday and spread to the other regions, driven by gales. Authorities have barred barbecues in wooded areas and public parks during the summer. Other precautionary measures against fires have also been taken. Source: Kuwait News Agency