‘My house is burning, oh my God’: Villagers tell of devastation as Turkey hit by worst fires in a decade
The ferocity of the fires in Turkey is quite something to behold.
We watched, along with the residents of the pretty seaside town of Cokertme on the Aegean coast, as the crackling dry forests around the community were devoured within minutes.
The village appeared to be surrounded. We watched as fire engines reversed and screeched away – as firefighters used loudspeakers to bellow at the residents to run. Behind them was a huge sheet of flames heading their way.
Tackling the fires which have broken out across nearly 40 (of the 81) provinces has proved to be a much harder task than anticipated.
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Sky reporter at edge of Turkey wildfires
The firefighters and authorities have had to contend with searingly high temperatures – peaking at more than 40C (104F) for most of the week.
On 20 July, the temperature reached a staggering 49.1C (120.38F) in Gizre in the southeast of the country. And the high temperatures are forecast to continue for at least another week.
The fires are thought to be the worst in at least a decade – with some forestry managers we spoke to describing them as the most devastating since the 1940s.
There has been particularly low humidity which has contributed to the dryness as well as strong sea winds which have exacerbated the fire hazards.
Locals have faced devastating losses as the fires rip through southern Turkey
A number of scientists blame these extremes on climate change but on top of these environmental factors, there’s been heavy criticism of the Turkish leader, President Erdogan, for not having sufficient firefighting aircraft to cope.
And exactly what started them is not yet clear although arsonists are being blamed for some.
But once the fires started, it’s been a monumental battle to try to bring them under control with even Mr Erdogan admitting the country did not have an adequate firefighting air fleet.
It has been a monumental battle to try to bring the blazes under control
Local and volunteers fighting to save Cokertme
These contributing factors are no comfort at all to the terrified citizens battling to save their homes, livestock, pets, businesses and farmland.
“My house is burning, my house, my house…oh my God,” was all one woman could say to us when we came across her in Cokertme. Minutes earlier she’d been screaming at the firefighters, cursing them for not arriving soon enough.
Villagers have been fighting the fires themselves, any way they can…. sometimes resorting to pouring bottles of water around the perimeter of their homes – or drawing buckets of water from private wells to try to keep the ground cool.
Smoke rising above Cokertme
A woman despairs at what has happened in her area
One woman, Tugce Ulualan told us: “The state isn’t helping us. If the villagers weren’t here, it would be even worse. There aren’t enough firefighters. There are no planes. There are no helicopters.”
In fact, the forestry ministry has outlined on its website that it has 13 planes, 45 helicopters, 9 drones and 828 firefighting vehicles. International help has arrived in the form of air support from first Russia as well as Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Iran.
Only later as the fires continued unabated has help been accepted from European countries such as Spain and Croatia.
We saw a Russian helicopter repeatedly drop buckets of water over fires in the village as the fires gained in strength and momentum.
Alex Crawford reporting from in front of a wall of flames
Residents ran in columns carrying fire hoses under their arms and up the hill near the village’s graveyard to try to beat back the flames lapping at the edge of their back gardens.
“Hadi! Hadi!” (Hurry! Hurry!) one man shouted at his neighbours. A woman near him sobbed audibly as she heaved a curled-up fire hose over a barbed fence.
“We were not prepared (as a country)….we were not prepared at all,” a young man who gave his name as Cem Akin told us. “I feel very tired and helpless. We can’t do anything. Our houses are burning. Our forests are burning – and there’s nothing we can do.”
A firefighter in Cokertme
There’s a collective anger and despair running through the country as fast as the fires which seem to be eating up the nation’s forest.
Around a staggering 95,000 hectares of forest have been devastated so far this year. And as soon as they seem to get the fires under control, more break out.
Turkey has already been badly hit economically because of coronavirus and a slump in its tourism industry. Its citizens are going to suffer even more now.
Other credits: Cameraman Kevin Sheppard, and producers Chris Cunningham and Guldenay Sonumut.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says two Chinese citizens have been captured while fighting in eastern Ukraine.
He said his forces had fought six Chinese soldiers and two of them had been taken prisoner. He added he had ordered officials to obtain an explanation from Beijing.
“We have information that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just two. We are now finding out all the facts,” he added.
As it happened: Zelenskyy demands reaction from US
China is an ally of Russia and has been accused of helping its war in Ukraine, though Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations that it has supplied Kremlin forces with weapons.
“Russia’s involvement of China in this war in Europe, directly or indirectly, is a clear signal that Putin is going to do anything but end the war,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “He is looking for ways to continue the war.”
Mr Zelenskyy described China as having joined Russia’s war against Ukraine and said he expected the US to react.
There was no immediate comment from China.
How many Chinese are actually fighting for Russia?
Were they volunteers – or mercenaries – who had signed up to fight in the Russian army on their own?
Alternatively, does the Chinese government sanction their involvement – or even encourage it? That would make the situation far more serious.
The capture of these Chinese nationals in Donetsk begs another question – how many Chinese are actually fighting for Russia? In his written post on social media platform Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “there are many more Chinese citizens” other than these two.
Still, the Ukrainian president works hard to suggest the Chinese, officially at least, are blameless.
“Russia’s involvement of China in this war… is a clear signal that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is going to do anything but end the war,” he writes on Telegram.
This is a generous interpretation of China’s approach to the conflict, which is quite openly contradictory.
Fighters of various nationalities have joined Russia’s army during the war, often in return for promises of large sums of money. This does not represent official interventions by their home countries.
North Korea has also sent thousands of its troops to support Russia.
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‘This could be very, very embarrassing for China’
After Mr Zelenskyy’s announcement, the Ukrainian foreign minister said he had summoned China’s diplomat for an explanation, saying on social media the presence of Chinese citizens in Russia puts Beijing’s stance for peace into question.
Read more from Sky News:
Zelenskyy makes dig at US over response to Russian attack
Serious questions raised by captured Chinese national in Ukraine
Ukraine in Belgorod, almost out of Kursk
Last night, Mr Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian forces are active in Russia’s Belgorod region.
He described the actions as “just”, adding: “war must return to where it came from”.
Meanwhile, regional governor Alexander Khinshtein said Russian forces are on the verge of reclaiming Kursk, months after Ukraine’s surprise incursion.
He claimed Russian forces had seized the settlement of Guyevo. Russian state news agency TASS said only two more settlements are left to recapture – Gornal and Oleshnya – to retake the entire region.
World
What we learn from video of captured Chinese national in Ukraine – and the serious questions it raises
In a carefully written post on social media platform Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russian army of deploying Chinese citizens on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.
What about the proof? Well, the Ukrainian president says his security services captured two people from China in the Donetsk region – along with identity documents, personal data and their bank cards.
Follow latest: Zelenskyy demands reaction from US
A video of a man in military fatigues who had been captured by Ukraine was pinned to the bottom of the statement.
We get snippets of a conversation where the alleged combatant seems to be talking about the events that led to his capture.
“When we arrived at the place… and then my commander.” The man gestures at the floor and ceiling, making shooting noises. “I was also injured.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy uploaded a video appearing to show a Chinese citizen in military uniform in Ukrainian custody
These details will make it difficult for the Chinese government to deny the incident out of hand, although they are highly unlikely to supply additional information.
Important details like, who are they? What function(s) do they fulfil in Ukraine’s occupied territories?
Were they volunteers – or mercenaries – who had signed up to fight in the Russian army on their own?
Alternatively, does the Chinese government sanction their involvement – or even encourage it?
That would make the situation far more serious.
Read more:
Zelenskyy makes dig at US over response to Russian attack
What China could do next as Trump’s tariff war ramps up
The capture of these Chinese nationals in Donetsk begs another question – how many Chinese are actually fighting for Russia? In his post, Mr Zelenskyy said “there are many more Chinese citizens” other than these two.
Still, the Ukrainian president works hard to suggest the Chinese, officially at least, are blameless.
“Russia’s involvement of China in this war… is a clear signal that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is going to do anything but end the war,” he writes on Telegram.
This is a generous interpretation of China’s approach to the conflict, which is quite openly contradictory.
On one hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping describes China as a neutral party to the conflict, while simultaneously offering Mr Putin long-term political and economic support.
In fact, he described their partnership as a “no limits” one in a phone call with Mr Putin on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy then, is making a point with this post – but he does not want to make the situation any worse.
The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table: 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s term, and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.
In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.
It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.
China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.
While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what could or would China do next?
It has said it will “fight to the end”, but what does that mean?
In reality, there are few good options.
There are some obvious measures that China will almost certainly enact.
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Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) are one example. China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time.
Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.
The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing.
It could, for instance, target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.
Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.
In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.
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This has been a major political issue for Mr Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.
Other options touted include banning the import of American films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all American products.
Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic decoupling, but cultural separation too.
There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.
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