Algeria —
Wildfires fanned by blistering
temperatures and tinder-dry conditions have killed at least 42 people in
Algeria, authorities said on Tuesday, adding that the fires had criminal origins.
اضافة اعلان
Late Tuesday the toll stood at 25 soldiers and 17 civilians killed.
Photographs posted on social media show huge walls of flame and billowing
clouds of smoke towering over charred trees in the forested hills of the
Kabylie region, east of the capital Algiers.
Algeria joins a string of countries to be hit by major blazes in recent
weeks, including Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and the western United States.
President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune tweeted his condolences for 25 soldiers
killed as they worked to rescue people in the areas of Bejaiea and Tizi Ouzou,
the epicenter of the blazes.
"It is with great sadness that I have learned of the martyrdom of 25
soldiers after they were successful in rescuing around 100 citizens from the
flames in the mountains of Bejaiea and Tizi Ouzou," the president said.
The defense ministry said the actions of the soldiers had "saved 110
people -- men, women and children -- from the flames".
At least another 14 soldiers were injured to varying degrees.
Seventeen civilians died in the Tizi Ouzou and Setif area, Prime Minister
Aimene Benabderrahmane said late Tuesday.
Earlier, the APS news agency gave a toll of 13 civilians killed.
State radio said three "arsonists" had been arrested in the
northern district of Medea and another in Annaba, in relation to other fires.
More than 70 fires have broken out in 18 states across the north of the
country, including 10 around Tizi Ouzou, one of the most populous cities in
Kabylie.
An AFP photographer in Tizi Ouzou saw medics carrying away bodies of people
killed in the fire.
Meteorologists said the temperature would hit 46 degrees Celsius (115
degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday in a North African country that is also
struggling with severe water shortages.
Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud, on a visit to Tizi Ouzou, told television
that "50 fires starting at the same time is impossible. These fires are of
criminal origin."
The civil protection directorate said 12 northern urban centers were hit by
fires.
Arson suspected
Public radio reported the arrest of three suspected arsonists in Medea.
Arson has been blamed for several major fires in recent years in Algeria.
Last month, President Tebboune ordered a bill to stiffen punishments for
starting a forest fire, with sentences of up to 30 years in prison -- and
possible life imprisonment, if the fire results in death.
In July, three people were arrested on suspicion of starting fires that
devastated 15 square kilometres (six square miles) of forest in the Aures
mountains.
In 2020, nearly 440 square kilometres (170 square miles) of forest were
destroyed by fire, and several people were arrested on suspicion of arson.
On Monday, the UN released a major report showing how the threat from global
warming is even more acute than previously thought.
It highlighted how scientists are quantifying the extent to which
human-induced warming increases the intensity and/or likelihood of a specific
extreme weather event, such as a heatwave or a wildfire.
Climate change amplifies droughts, creating ideal conditions for wildfires
to spread out of control and inflict unprecedented material and environmental
damage.
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