Forest fires raged across the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Sunday, while firefighters in Greece, Italy and Lebanon controlled most of the blazes that have killed one person and destroyed thousands of acres of forest.
Fires seared across Cyprus, where 5,000 acres of forest were reportedly burning. Residents of three villages were evacuated in the Turkish-occupied northern third of the island, according to the Turkish Cypriot news agency TAK. At least five people were reported injured.Helicopters sent from Turkey were helping local firefighters push back the flames that had swept through parts of Cyprus and the U.N. buffer zone.
Turkish and Greek communities on the island have been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded.
In Greece, firefighters had reined in most of the 180 fires that swept across the country Saturday. Less than 10 fires were still out of control.