Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has announced the arrest of nine people among 22 who were detained in connection to forest fires that broke out in seven provinces across the country last week.
Tunç said on X on Saturday that 22 suspects have been detained as part of investigations launched by the relevant prosecutor’s offices into forest fires in Aydın, Muğla, İzmir, Tunceli, Manisa, Bolu and Uşak provinces between August 12 and 17.
12-17 Ağustos tarihleri arasında #Aydın, #Muğla, #İzmir, #Manisa, #Tunceli, #Bolu ve #Uşak olmak üzere 7 ilimizde meydana gelen orman yangınları hakkında ilgili Cumhuriyet Başsavcılıkları tarafından yürütülen soruşturmalar kapsamında şu ana kadar;
▶️ Toplam 22 şüpheli gözaltına…
— Yılmaz TUNÇ (@yilmaztunc) August 18, 2024
The minister said in addition to the nine arrested, five of the detained suspects have been released under judicial supervision.
Turkey was hit by multiple fires last week, some of which are still continuing to burn. The İzmir fire was the biggest Turkey has seen this summer.
It started on Thursday and was quickly spread to residential areas by winds blowing at 50 kilometers (30 miles) an hour and prompting evacuation of the residents.
Firefighters were dispatched from several towns, while the army and police were also mobilized in the effort.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said on Sunday that fires have largely been brought under control in İzmir.
At least 43 buildings were damaged in İzmir, while 26 people were hospitalized with injuries related to the blaze, according to Urban Planning Minister Murat Kurum.
Wild animals and cats and dogs died in the fire, but no human fatalities have yet been reported.
Turkey suffered its worst-ever wildfires in the summer of 2021. They claimed nine lives and destroyed huge swaths of forested land across its Mediterranean and Aegean coasts.
The disaster sparked a political crisis after it emerged that Turkey had no functioning firefighting planes.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was pressured to accept international help.
It also prompted Ankara to push through Turkey’s delayed ratification of the Paris Climate Accord, becoming the last of the Group of 20 major economies to do so.
Experts say climate change will cause more frequent and more intense wildfires and other natural disasters in Turkey unless measures are taken to tackle the problem.