Blazes continue to engulf southern Greece

Fire-fighters are continuing to battle dozens of fires which are still raging across southern Greece.Blighted communities are "living in terror" as the nation's worst fires in living memory are obliterating swathes of forests and have forced residents to flee villages from Evros in the north to the western islands of Corfu and Kefalonia, and the Peloponnese in the south.At least 63 people have died over the past three days with strong, hot winds serving to exacerbate the problem.Fresh blazes broke out faster than others could be brought under control, leaving behind a devastated landscape of blackened tree trunks and gutted houses.The destruction and deaths have infuriated Greeks already stunned by deadly forest fires in June and July and appears likely to dominate political debate before early general elections scheduled for September 16.Many blamed the government for failing to respond quickly enough and hundreds turned out in the Greek capital of Athens to show their frustrations as massive fires continued to rage across the country.The protesters said that they believed there was a profit motive behind the apparently deliberate burning of woodland.They claimed that the fires were started in order to clear the land for development which would profit the landowners and developers.The protesters carried coffins and posters reading "our dead, their profit" and "profit kills".The government, which declared a state of emergency over the weekend, said arson might have been the cause, and several people have been arrested.An investigation has been ordered into whether arson attacks could come under Greece's anti-terrorism and organised crime laws.On Saturday, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said it could not be coincidence that so many fires broke out simultaneously in so many areas of the country.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | August 28, 2007

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