Fears for Aussie war graves at Gallipoli as massive wildfires break out in Türkiye

Turkish bushfires are threatening to ravage the war graves of Anzac diggers on Gallipoli.

The fires broke out on the Gallipoli Peninsula earlier this week and have been raging out of control in hot conditions with low humidity.

In Australia the Returned & Services League (RSL) said it was monitoring the situation and hoping the graves of Australians and New Zealanders killed in the seminal WWI Gallipoli campaign would be unscathed.

RSL Australia President Greg Melick said he understood the famed Lone Pine cemetery was closed to visitors for safety and to allow firefighters to better do their job. 

‘We are confident that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, local authorities and firefighters will do all they can to protect and rehabilitate the sacred sites and monuments, but we understand that the situation is serious and remain concerned,’ he said.  

Although communication with local authorities was limited the RSL was also seeking to discover the condition of the original landing site.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned on Friday the fires may reach the graves of Australian soldiers at Anzac Cove.

‘Our thoughts today are also with our friends in Türkiye. We understand there are efforts underway to control fires that are burning on the Gallipoli Peninsula,’ Mr Albanese told a press conference.

‘Gallipoli is, of course, sacred ground to both of our countries.

‘Some 60,000 Australians served at Gallipoli during the eight-month campaign, and 8,700 Australians lost their lives,’ he said, referring to the Gallipoli campaign of World War I.

‘18,000 were wounded during the campaign. And there were more than 7,200 Australians buried in cemeteries or listed as missing there.

‘So our thoughts today are with those who continue to care for those cemeteries, and welcome thousands of Australians who visit ANZAC headstones each year, as they endure these difficult times.’ 

Türkiye’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Bekir Karacabey, earlier said firefighters were managing the blaze around the region of the graves.

‘We are intervening non-stop from land and air with the guardians of #GreenHomeland to bring the forest fire in Eceabat, Çanakkale under control,’ Mr Karacabey wrote in a Facebook post.

‘Let’s be careful to prevent other fires in these days when the risk of fire increases due to extraordinary weather conditions.’ 

Wildfires have been raging in Türkiye such as this blaze in the Milas district popular with tourists