About fifty fires “of criminal origin” and fueled by a heatwave episode began Monday evening in northern Algeria, especially in Kabylia, killing seven people, said the Minister of the Interior.
“We, unfortunately, deplore seven deaths. Six in the region (Tizi Ouzou) and one in Sétif ”, in the north, declared on television the Minister of the Interior Kamel Beldjoud, who went accompanied by a ministerial delegation to Tizi Ouzou, one of the most populous cities of Kabylia.
Civil protection teams are trying to put out 31 fires in 14 wilayas (prefecture) in the north of the country. Ten are underway in Tizi Ouzou. Four others erupted in Jijel (east).
The towns of Bouira, Sétif, Khenchela, Guelma, Bejaïa, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Boumerdès, Tiaret, Medea, Tébessa, Blida, and Skikda are also affected by fires, the general directorate of civil protection said on Twitter.
“Fifty starts of fire at the same time, it’s impossible. These fires are of criminal origin, ”said Mr. Beldjoud.
Algerian public radio announced on Tuesday the arrest of three “arsonists” in Médéa (north) where a fire also broke out.
Winds spread the fires and complicate the task of rescuers, said Youcef Ould Mohamed, the local forest conservator, quoted by the Algerian press agency APS.
These fires occur as Algeria is experiencing a scorching summer marked by water scarcity in the country. Weather services predict temperatures of up to 46 degrees on Tuesday.
Impressive images of the fires are circulating on social networks.
During a Council of Ministers held on July 25, President Abdelamdjid Tebboune ordered the development of a bill severely punishing those responsible for arson in forests, with sentences of up to 30 years in prison. or even life imprisonment if the fire has caused the death of individuals.
In early July, three people suspected of being involved in fires that devastated 1,500 hectares of forests in the Aurès massif (north-eastern Algeria) were arrested.
The largest country in Africa, Algeria has only 4.1 million hectares of forests, with a meager reforestation rate of 1.76%.
Every year, the country is affected by forest fires. In 2020, nearly 44,000 hectares of coppice went up in smoke. The authorities had announced that they had arrested several perpetrators of arson.
The fires that are increasing across the globe are associated with various phenomena anticipated by scientists due to global warming.
The increase in temperature, the increase in heatwaves, and the drop in precipitation in places are an ideal combination for the development of fires.
