Over 200 hectares of pine and oak trees in northern Lebanon have been destroyed in an arson attack blamed on charcoal merchants, civil defense officials said Monday.
They said two merchants were detained at the scene on Saturday as they used petrol to rekindle the blaze started two days earlier and which fire fighters had almost put out. More than 300 civil defense workers and soldiers were mobilized along with two army helicopters against the fire, which was fanned by strong hot winds, according to AFP.
The fire ravaged seven hills as well as gorges, which are inaccessible by road. It was still ablaze on Monday, with flames visible in the sky several kilometers away. (Albawaba.com)
