A firefighting operation in Saudi Arabia’s southern Arabian province of Jizan has seen more than 80,000 firefighters, helicopters, and heavy equipment deployed to fight fires in the region.
The firefighting effort began on September 1 after the Saudi Arabian government asked for help from other countries to deal with the fire situation.
The UAE was among the countries who were asked to join the Saudi firefighting efforts.
The air force has deployed a number of heavy vehicles including the SU-25M, the F-15C, and the T-90 tank, while the navy has deployed the Yalu and a naval patrol ship, the MQ-8B, to the region, as well as the Yaboon and Yavuz, which are armed patrol boats.
Meanwhile, the Saudi navy has also deployed two amphibious landing ships to Jizann.
The kingdom has been battling fires across the kingdom, and on September 10, a total of 23,937 people were reported to have died in Saudi-led fires in Jiznan, according to the state-run SPA news agency.
The Saudi fire fighting operation is seen as a response to a number that have erupted in the kingdom over the past months, including the death of a prince and the arrest of a top Saudi official, as the country struggles to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
In October, the firefighting was criticised for being too slow and not moving fast enough.
In November, the government of King Salman said that firefighting operations in Jazan and elsewhere in the country were too slow, and that the situation had become so serious that fire prevention was becoming an issue.
The number of deaths in Juzan in November, meanwhile, rose to 19, and a total number of 4,069 people were injured in fires there as of the end of November.
The SPA reported on November 8 that more than 2,000 homes were damaged in the fires, which left an estimated $50m in damage.
