Jakarta, Aug. 24 -- The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) have deployed a specialized paratrooper unit to combat forest fires in remote areas of Riau that are inaccessible by ground transport.

"We have prepared our top paratroopers to execute freefall jumps directly into targeted areas to extinguish the fires," Maj. Gen. Agus Hadi Waluyo, Commander of the XIX/Tuanku Tambusai Military District, said in a statement on Monday.

The paratroopers are drawn from various elite units under the Disaster Mitigation Quick Response Force (PRCPB), trained to reach fire zones rapidly.

Waluyo noted that personnel deployed for the mission are trained to operate in extreme terrain, perform helicopter rappelling with heavy gear, and utilize paramoto...