Namibia deploys hundreds of soldiers to fight Etosha fire

Windhoek: Namibia began deploying hundreds of soldiers on Sunday to fight a fire that has burned through a third of the vast Etosha National Park, one...

Windhoek: Namibia began deploying hundreds of soldiers on Sunday to fight a fire that has burned through a third of the vast Etosha National Park, one of Africa's largest game reserves, officials said.

The park in the north of the largely desert nation is home to 114 species of mammals, notably the critically endangered black rhinoceros, and is a major tourist attraction.

The fire had been raging since September 22 and has caused extensive ecological damage, already burning through about 34 percent of the park, the environment ministry said.

After an emergency cabinet meeting Saturday, the government said 500 extra soldiers would be deployed from Sunday to assist teams of troops, police, locals and other firefighters at the scene, Prime Minister Tjitunga Elijah Nguare's office said in a post on Facebook.

"The order was given that the troops must be deployed, and if all are not on the ground yet, they will be there soon," Defence Minister Frans Kapofi told AFP Sunday.