In Algeria, the fires that ravaged Kabylia are extinguished – archyworldys

The last forest fires, which have ravaged northern Algeria for more than a week were extinguished, the Algerian civil protection announced Wednesday (August 18th). The remaining seven outbreaks were neutralized by civil protection teams in six wilayas (prefectures), according to a press release. The gigantic fires, which began on August 9, destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of forests in 26 of Algeria’s 58 wilayas.

They caused the death of at least 90 people, including 33 soldiers, according to various reports from local authorities and the Ministry of Defense. The disasters triggered a wave of solidarity throughout Algeria and in the diaspora. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said most of the fires were originally “Criminal”. He reported the arrest of 22 suspects.

61 suspects arrested after lynching

But beyond the human and material losses, and the deficiencies of the public authorities highlighted by these fires, Algeria was deeply shocked by the lynching and immolation of Djamel Ben Ismaïl, wrongly accused of pyromania in Kabylia ( northeast), the region most affected by the fires. After his death, 61 suspects were arrested, according to Algerian police, who implicitly accused the Kabyle independence movement of being involved in the young man’s murder and the arson attacks. Involved, the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK, separatist), an illegal organization classified as “Terrorist organization” in Algeria, dismissed the charges.

To fight the flames, the Algerian army mobilized five Russian Mi-26 helicopters and civil protection three water bomber helicopters. The authorities were also able to count on the reinforcement of two French water bombers – made available by the European Union – and another Spanish aircraft. Faced with the scale of the disaster and the lack of anticipation and prevention, they decided to purchase four Russian Beriev-200 water bomber planes.

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 north of the country is affected by forest fires, but this phenomenon is accentuated. In 2020, nearly 44,000 hectares of coppice went up in smoke, a figure that is expected to be greatly exceeded by 2021. Global warming increases the likelihood of heat waves and droughts and, consequently, of fires.