ZAGREB, 15 Aug, 2021 - Croatian Air Force fire-fighting planes on Sunday managed to contain three wildfires in the Široki Brijeg area, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they were sent at the country's request, while many fire sites are still active in the Mostar and Jablanica areas.

The fires in the Široki Brijeg area are being put out by fire-fighters and the local population.

The planes took off this morning from Zemunik air base near Zadar, taking water from a lake near Tomislavgrad, BiH.

The request for sending them came on Saturday from the authorities of the Western Herzegovina and Herzegovina-Neretva cantons.

Most fires in Herzegovina are difficult to put out due to the mountainous terrain.

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ZAGREB, 8 Aug, 2021 - Two Croatian fire-fighting planes were sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday to put out a wildfire near Tomislavgrad near the Croatian border, the Croatian Defence Ministry said.

The planes were sent to Tomislavgrad where homes are under threat on orders from Minister Mario Banožić on the use of Croatian Armed Forces to help BiH put out wildfires following talks with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the ministry said.

"We sent two Canadairs to BiH to help our friends and neighbours who have been fighting fires for several days now. I'm confident that our firefighting planes will help protect the houses and property of the people in that area. Croatia is happy to have top pilots who help when help is most needed," Banožić said.

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ZAGREB, 7 Aug, 2021 - A Croatian Air Force firefighting plane on Saturday returned to the Zemunik air base near Zadar from Turkey, where it had been helping put out major wildfires in the region of Antalya.

The plane left Croatia on 2 August, with two crews on board.

It performed 82 flights, dropping 438 tonnes of water and consuming 19,205 litres of fuel, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Minister Mario Banožić thanked the Croatian pilots and technicians for performing their tasks professionally, noting that the Croatian Army was always ready to promptly provide assistance, not only in Croatia but abroad as well.

"This mission contributes to the promotion of the Croatian Armed Forces' reputation and capabilities. Our colleagues in Turkey welcomed us warmly and assisted us throughout firefighting operations. They expressed gratitude to the Croatian people and the Croatian Army for their help," he said.

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ZAGREB, June 16, 2020 -  For the second year in a row Croatia's firefighting aircraft will be on stand-by as part of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (RescEU) mechanism, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

Croatian firefighting planes will be prepared to participate in the RescEU mission from June 15 to October 31, based on two models. Under the first model, two aircraft would fly to neighboring Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania and would return to Croatia each day, while the second model envisages missions of several days to more distant countries like Spain, France, and Israel.

A third model also exists where aircraft can be deployed to countries with a high wildfire risk and will be prepared to intervene if necessary.

The commander of the 855th firefighting squadron, Colonel Tomislav Vacenovski, said that together with other sections of homeland security, Croatia's firefighting system has also been strengthened and is capable of providing assistance to other countries.

"We have had 19 international missions in seven countries which confirms our high potential and preparedness to promptly deploy our forces not only in Croatia but in countries that request assistance," Vacenovski said.

RescEU is a project that reinforced and strengthened the EU's disaster risk management by upgrading the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and has the objective of enhancing both the protection of citizens from disasters and the management of emerging risks.