Indonesia bolsters troop numbers to combat Borneo wildfires

Fires between January and July burned more than 200,000 hectares of land, says the government. The Indonesian government is sending 1,500 more soldiers to Borneo to help tackle wildfires that have burned through swaths of the island and created thick smog, choking some areas.

Fires this year have scorched at least 200,000 hectares (495,000 acres) of land – an area three times the size of the capital, Jakarta, the government said – as dry conditions, driven by a powerful El Nino weather pattern, take hold. Indonesian officials race to contain wildfires as dozens of schools shut Wildfires burn across Indonesia as officials cite El Nino as a cause Indonesia closes national park in East Java as wildfire expands President Prabowo Subianto, on a visit to the region on Saturday, ordered increased troop deployment, Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said. “An additional three Indonesia National Armed Forces battalions, or around 1,500 personnel, will be brought in from outside Kalimantan starting today,” Teddy said in a statement.

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