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Government agencies are not allowed to respond to the wildfires in Dersim due to the ongoing military operations, the city's mayor has said.
Releasing a video on Twitter today (August 27), Mehmet Maçoğlu said neither the municipality nor the Provincial Directorate of Forestry is allowed to enter the fire area.
CLICK - Military operations hamper response to wildfires in Dersim
The fire that broke out in Hozat district 10 days ago is now reportedly approaching Ovacık.
Flames have reached a hamlet one kilometer away from Buzlutepe village, he noted. "There is no residential area but five houses, five-six herd owners and beekeepers."
Saying that he faced obstacles when he set out to go to Buzlutepe yesterday, he was able to get permission from the governor's office to go to the village after long negotiations, Maçoğlu remarked.
However, he said, the sub-governor of Ovacık district attempted to prevent them despite the governor's permission. The sub-governor and a village guard threatened them and attempted to seize their phones, he added.
#DersimYanıyorSesVer pic.twitter.com/SXoWfeavKK
— Fatih Mehmet Maçoğlu (@FatihMacoglu) August 27, 2021
(KÖ/VK)
