Namibia has deployed more than 500 soldiers to help fight a fire that has burned through a third of the vast Etosha National Park, one of Africa’s largest wildlife reserves, Prime Minister Tjitunga Ngurare Manongo said in a social media post.

Manongo said, starting Sunday, the troops would help firefighters, police, and volunteers who are already fighting the “raging fire”.

The park in the north of the largely desert nation is home to 114 species of mammals, including the critically endangered black rhinoceros , and is a major tourist attraction.

The fire started on September 22 and spread rapidly because of strong winds and dry vegetation, causing extensive ecological damage, Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and the presidency said.

The ministry has announced

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