Ninawa governor says farm fires were set by farmers burning post-harvest residue

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The head of Nineveh's provincial council said agricultural fires reported across the northern Iraqi governorate were started by farmers burning post-harvest crop residue. Ghazwan al-Dawudi, who chairs both the council and its harvest commission, said on Sunday that the simultaneous outbreaks in Bashika, Kayyarah, Zammar, Bartella and other areas delayed firefighting response because crews could not reach all sites at once. Al-Dawudi said administrators and security units had been instructed to obtain written commitments from farmers not to burn residue, but the fires occurred anyway. He said civil defense teams across the governorate had been ordered to intervene immediately and that the flames were brought fully under control. According to civil defense sources, separate fires broke out in Musayid village in the Himaydat subdistrict, Shelekh village in the Badush subdistrict, Manara Shibek village and Bartella. In Bartella, crews protected a poultry farm containing about 70,000 chickens from burning during the response. No casualties were reported. Officials said cooling operations and damage assessments were continuing in some areas.