Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday said he assumed "political responsibility" for the country's deadliest wildfires as a bitter debate raged over who was to blame for the tragedy. The opposition earlier accused the government of refusing to take responsibility after it said that the worst of the fires, which killed scores this week east of Athens, was the result of arson.
Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas on Thursday suggested that arson had played a role in the tragedy in which at least 87 people perished.
At a cabinet meeting broadcast live on Friday, Tsipras said he wanted "to assume completely before the great Greek people the political responsibility for this tragedy". "I believe that is what the prime minister and the government should do," he added.
Forensics experts pressed ahead Friday with the difficult task of identifying the bodies of those who perished in the catastrophe. An official in the identification effort told Greek radio that most of the bodies were completely carbonised, meaning the task will likely take several more days to complete.
Amid public anger over the government's handling of the aftermath, Toskas told reporters on Thursday that "a serious piece of information has led to us opening an investigation" into possible "criminal acts". Officials citing information from satellite maps have said that 13 fires broke out at the same time across the region of Attica - which includes Athens - on Monday.
But the government has come in for strong criticism over its response to the disaster despite a 40-million-euro relief fund for those affected. Defence Minister Panos Kammenos was heckled as he visited the coastal region of Mati, where most of the fatalities occurred. "You left us to God's mercy, there's nothing left," shouted one resident. But Kammenos went on the counter-attack, telling the BBC that illegal construction in the past was also to blame for the disaster.
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