Indonesia president threatens to sack fire fighters if forest blazes not tackled

Indonesian soldiers are seen amidst smoke as they try to extinguish a peatlands fire in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia, August 3, 2019. Antara Foto/Rony Muharrman via REUTERS

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo threatened on Tuesday to sack military and police officers fighting forest fires if they fail to extinguish the flames. He also promised government funds for high-tech equipment like drones to help tackle the blazes.

The Southeast Asian country has deployed thousands of military and police to douse forest fires after declaring an emergency in six provinces on the island of Sumatra and in the province of Kalimantan on Borneo.