A bishop called on Serbs to repent and pray for rain as the Balkans sizzled in soaring temperatures and emergency services struggled to douse hundreds of wildfires set off after an exceptionally dry summer.
The EU’s peacekeeping force in Bosnia (EUfor) deployed helicopters to battle fires in the eastern Bosnian region of Bratunac. Smoke hung across the southern Mostar valley from flames which threatened some residential areas.
Temperatures in the western Balkans have soared in the past week to more than 40 degrees, dashing any hopes of rain to salvage the harvest. Authorities in Serbia said they had registered 260 fires yesterday morning, the worst in the Cigota pine forests of Zlatibor mountain and Tara National Park, both popular tourist spots. No casualties have been reported.
Orthodox Christian Bishop Milutin, from the Serbian city of Valjevo, called on Serbs to congregate tomorrow, repent and pray for rain. “Clearly, the cause of such misfortune is human sin and lack of care for the natural order of things,” he said. – (Reuters)
