A forest management officer was caught red-handed igniting a wildfire in Silvan (Farqîn) district of Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeastern Diyarbakır (Amed) on Friday, heightening concerns over intentional deforestation following recent fatal blazes in the area.
The arrest occurred swiftly after municipal workers intercepted Mustafa S. in the act of starting the fire, promptly handing him over to local authorities. Fortunately, vigilant citizens managed to contain the blaze before it inflicted extensive damage on the surroundings.
The Farqîn municipality has called for urgent clarification from officials regarding Mustafa S.’s motives and the potential scale of the intended fire.
Silvan Co-Mayor Kadrî Esen expressed deep concern over the incident, linking it to recent catastrophic wildfires that claimed the lives of 15 people in nearby Diyarbakır and Mardin. These fires have been attributed to systemic failures in electrical infrastructure, notably linked to DEDAŞ (Dicle Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş.), where insufficient maintenance and investment exacerbated conditions leading to the tragic loss of life. Esen questioned the adequacy of safety measures in the region, calling for swift and transparent action and urging authorities to hold the responsible parties to account and ensure comprehensive reforms to prevent such incidents in the future.
