Indonesia arrests 72 suspected of starting forest fires as haze persists

Indonesian authorities have arrested 72 individuals suspected of igniting forest and peatland fires, exacerbating a haze problem in central and western Indonesia. The National Disaster Management Agency attributes the fires to an intensifying El Nino pattern and a prolonged dry season, which have produced dense smoke that has spread into neighboring Malaysia.

Plantation owners and traditional farmers frequently ignite fires to clear land for agriculture, straining relations with neighboring nations. Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, revealed that the suspects were being probed in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on Borneo and four on Sumatra.

Many suspects were accused of intentionally setting fire to land to clear areas for plantations at a lower cost. Investigators are still tracing financial records to determine if companies financed or ordered the land clearing, suggesting the probe could expand beyond those arrested. Irhamni stated that the authorities will pursue those benefiting from these activities and their ultimate perpetrators.

Blazes on Sunday engulfed parts of Borneo, the world's third-largest island shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Indonesia manages about three-quarters of the island, where the Environment Ministry recorded over 3,700 hotspots on Sunday. BNPB chief Suharyanto noted that fire activity had surged in West, Central, and South Kalimantan provinces on Borneo, where many blazes intensified due to peatlands, extending the haze in several regions.

Suharyanto emphasized that even land that appears extinguished on the surface may contain embers beneath, necessitating sufficient rainfall to rewet the peat and fully suppress the fires. Cloud-seeding operations were reinstated over Kalimantan on Sunday, with 30 helicopters deployed for water-bombing and aerial patrol missions over Kalimantan and an additional 22 helicopters covering Sumatra.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has grappled with severe smoke from the fires, with its eastern state of Sarawak among the most affected. One district recorded "very unhealthy" air quality on Friday, while eight others reported unhealthy readings, leading to the closure of nearly 600 schools and impacting around 200,000 students.