Serbia wildfire forces evacuations near Belgrade

A wildfire burning in Serbia's Deliblatska Pescara forest reserve forced evacuations on Thursday as a Russian water-bombing aircraft helped crews fight the flames.

The fire has been burning since early August in the reserve about 60 kilometres east of Belgrade. Serbian state broadcaster RTS said a small hamlet on the edge of the reserve was evacuated after strong winds drove the flames toward homes.

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said the situation remained difficult, but said there had been no reports of damage so far.

A Russian Ilyushin aircraft arrived late Wednesday after Belgrade requested assistance. An AFP journalist saw the waterbomber, which has a capacity of 42,000 litres, dousing parts of the fire on Thursday afternoon.

Dacic said the fire remained dangerous even after multiple passes by the aircraft, citing sand, heat and extreme temperatures.

Extreme-condition warnings have been issued across most of the Balkans as heatwave conditions returned to the region. In neighbouring Bosnia, firefighters were also struggling to contain large blazes in the mountainous northwest, with work hampered by the threat of landmines left from the 1990s war.