ZAGREB, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Croatian government has decided to send military aircraft to neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to assist in extinguishing wildfires, according to an official statement issued on Monday.
Under the decision, members of the Croatian Armed Forces are authorized to cross the national border to provide humanitarian assistance in fighting wildfires in the municipality of Bosansko Grahovo in BiH.
The deployment follows a telephone conversation between Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Borjana Kristo, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of BiH, during which Kristo requested Croatia's assistance in tackling the blazes, according to the statement.
Croatia has approved the deployment of two Canadair CL-415 water-bombing aircraft from the Croatian Air Force, along with two military crew members, to carry out the firefighting mission.
The aerial intervention is crucial as the wildfire is burning near landmine-suspected areas left from the 1990s conflict, making ground-based firefighting highly restricted due to safety risks. ■
