Algeria: 19 fires still ravage the north of the country – franceinfo

The flames continue to wreak havoc in Algeria. Firefighters try, Sunday, August 15, to extinguish 19 fires still active in ten prefectures in the north of the country. The forest fires have killed at least 90 people since last Monday, including 33 soldiers, according to the authorities.

Six fires are thus in progress in the prefecture of Bejaïa, and three in that of El Tarf, announced the civil protection. However, only two fires remain to be brought under control in Tizi Ouzou, which has recorded most of the human losses.

In the past 24 hours, civil protection units have managed to extinguish 33 fires in 12 prefectures, including 17 in Tizi Ouzou alone. The army also mobilized five Russian Mi-26 helicopters, in addition to two French water bombers made available by Paris via the European Union, and a Spanish plane to control the latest forest fires.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Thursday that most of the fires were original “criminal”. He also announced that 22 suspects had been arrested.

The weather service warned on Sunday that the rise in temperatures continued in the north of the country, reaching 44 degrees. What feed fears for the future, while the north of Algeria is affected each year by forest fires. In 2020, nearly 44,000 hectares of coppice went up in smoke.