Fyli

Hundreds of firefighters struggled overnight to contain a wildfire on the outskirts of Athens, forcing more evacuations as authorities warned the risk of new blazes was high across the country on Wednesday.

Twenty people have been killed since fires erupted in northern Greece on Saturday and quickly spread, fanned by gale force winds in the second major outbreak of the summer.

Firefighters were on Wednesday working to prevent a fire on the foothills of Mount Parnitha, located on the outskirts of Athens, from advancing into the heart of the mountain, a protected nature reserve. The mountain already experienced extensive damage due to a massive wildfire last summer.

Residents in Gennimata and Kanala in Ano Liosia, in the northwestern part of the Athens agglomeration, have been urged to evacuate to Liosia due to wildfires in the area, in a 112 alert.

In nearby Fyli, the flames have already consumed some buildings.

Authorities have also ordered that the capital's main landfill at Fyli be closed until further notice.

An emergency message was sent to the residents of Fyli, in west Attica, on Tuesday morning telling them to evacuate after a blaze broke out in the area earlier in the day, the fire brigade said. 

The message told people to head towards Ano Liosia as the blaze burned near the Kleiston Monastery.

A 15-year-old boy with disabilities was assaulted by five individuals, possibly including minors, on Sunday night in Ano Liosia, western Athens.

As reported by the state broadcaster ERT, the suspects approached the boy and launched a brutal assault, repeatedly striking him on the head and forcibly taking his mobile phone.

Two horses were found dead at the bottom of cliffs in the Parnitha mountain range north of Athens.

On Saturday, the nonprofit Ippothesis Panhellenic Equine Welfare Society posted horrific images of the two horses found a few kilometers north of the municipality of Fyli by volunteers who feed stray animals in the area.

A 68-year-old woman was killed by a pack of dogs in a scrapyard lot in Ano Liosia, northern Athens, on Saturday morning, state broadcaster ERT reported.

The woman was attacked by the dogs outside the mobile home where she lived with her 70-year-old partner. The trailer was parked inside a scrapyard, whose owner, aged 76, has been arrested. 

Responding to the new conditions and challenges that have been created in Attica and its peculiar ecosystems in recent years, the Environmental Association of Athens-Piraeus Municipalities has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the ANIMA animal care center for the more effective protection of wildlife.

An inmate who failed to return to the prison in Hania in Crete in August last year has been arrested by police in Ano Liosia, west of Athens.
The 37-year-old Syrian, who is serving 23 years for migrant trafficking, had received permission to leave the facility for five days. He was reported missing when he did not return to the facility as scheduled.

Concerns have been raised over the safety of capital's old and new landfills at Fyli, northwestern Athens, after a report published on Wednesday described the situation as "desperate."