The number rose to 26. deceased with forest fires devastated a dozen provinces in the northeast Algeria and at least 45 injuredThe Ministry of the Interior announced today.
Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud announced that two of the victims died in the city of Sétif, 24 of them in El Tarf on the Tunisian border, and two tankers lost their lives, one of which was a child. With the support of army helicopters, planes trying to control the fire were moved to the scene. Civil Protection, which has requested the general mobilization of its agents, including those on vacation, has recorded a total over the last 24 hours. 39 fires in 14 provinces The country where most of the highways in the region are closed.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased and secured the support of the State to mobilize all available human and material resources to fight the fires and care for the wounded.
Algeria, which has approximately 4 million hectares of forest, has recently A heat wave with temperatures reaching 47 degrees Celsius. Every summer in this northern part of the country, fires are very common; In August last year, they destroyed 100,000 hectares of forest in 26 of 58 provinces and claimed the lives of at least 90 people, 33 of whom were soldiers, whose citizens participated in the extinguishing and evacuation operations. Authorities later announced that a bill was being drafted that would punish those responsible for voluntary fires in forest areas with up to 30 years in prison and even life imprisonment if they cause death. They also promised to strengthen resources in fighting the fires, but so far no new tanker aircraft purchases have been announced.