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SA to fight Ethiopian fires
South Africa has agreed to send more firefighters to Ethiopia to assist in an air operation to put out raging forest fires.
"South Africa is honoured to be part of an international team providing assistance to the Ethiopian authorities in extinguishing these fires," said South Africa's deputy minister for foreign affairs, Aziz Pahad.
"South Africa is honoured to be part of an international team providing assistance to the Ethiopian authorities in extinguishing these fires," said South Africa's deputy minister for foreign affairs, Aziz Pahad.
Bale National Park has something like 52% of the indigenous mammal species in Ethiopia.  |
Ethiopian official
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Mr Pahad is in the Ethiopian capital for a meeting of the Organisation of African Unity.
About 70,000 hectares of forest and coffee plantations have been destroyed by the fires, which have been raging in southern Ethiopia for the past four weeks.
The fires now threaten some of Africa's rarest wildlife, as they approach the Bale Mountains National Park, which is home to species such as the Ethiopian wolf.
Commenting on the need for urgent international assistance, an official of the World Wildlife Fund in Addis Ababa said: "It is critically important because Bale National Park has something like 52% of the indigenous mammal species in Ethiopia."
Thousands mobilised
South Africa has already sent eight firefighters, but an additional 22 are now expected to join in the air operation which gets underway on Saturday.
An Ethiopian government official said the firefighters would attack the flames from the air with water and chemicals, using Ethiopian helicopters.
South Africa is also expected to provide a spotter plane for the first phase of the operation.
The fires are believed to have been started by farmers clearing forest for cultivation, or by honey collectors using fire to smoke out bees.
German and South African fire fighting assessors, who visited the areas affected, said that Ethiopia could not tackle the blazes alone.
Around 70,000 soldiers, farmers and university students have already been mobilised to fight the fires.
According to the authorities, two separate fires in Bale and Borena zones, 300 km south of the capital, Addis Ababa, have reached "unbearable proportions" and are now "completely uncontrollable".
About 70,000 hectares of forest and coffee plantations have been destroyed by the fires, which have been raging in southern Ethiopia for the past four weeks.
The fires now threaten some of Africa's rarest wildlife, as they approach the Bale Mountains National Park, which is home to species such as the Ethiopian wolf.
Commenting on the need for urgent international assistance, an official of the World Wildlife Fund in Addis Ababa said: "It is critically important because Bale National Park has something like 52% of the indigenous mammal species in Ethiopia."
Thousands mobilised
South Africa has already sent eight firefighters, but an additional 22 are now expected to join in the air operation which gets underway on Saturday.
 Some of Africa's rarest wildlife is threatened
|
South Africa is also expected to provide a spotter plane for the first phase of the operation.
The fires are believed to have been started by farmers clearing forest for cultivation, or by honey collectors using fire to smoke out bees.
German and South African fire fighting assessors, who visited the areas affected, said that Ethiopia could not tackle the blazes alone.
Around 70,000 soldiers, farmers and university students have already been mobilised to fight the fires.
According to the authorities, two separate fires in Bale and Borena zones, 300 km south of the capital, Addis Ababa, have reached "unbearable proportions" and are now "completely uncontrollable".
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