FOREST FIRES KILL 15 IN ALGERIA AS HEATWAVE HITS NORTH AFRICA

Mon 24 July 2023:

At least 15 people were killed and 26 injured in a series of devastating forest fires that swept through several states in northern Algeria, said Interior Ministry on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, the Ministry said that 97 fires were recorded late Sunday and they affected forests and agricultural crops in 16 provinces.

It noted that the blaze spread to some villages.

The Ministry said it registered “15 victims and 26 injured, while 1,500 citizens were evacuated.”

To combat the flames, a team of around 7,500 civil protection personnel has been deployed. They are utilising 350 trucks of various sizes, along with aerial support, to extinguish the fires and bring the situation under control, the Ministry said.

As of now, fire fighting efforts have successfully contained fires in the provinces of Boumerdes, Bouira, Tizi Ouzou, Bejaia, Jijel, and Skikda.

Algerian authorities on Wednesday closed the border post of Oum Teboul on the border with Tunisia after a fire that broke out on Tuesday continued to rage.

The fire started in the Maloula forest near the city of Tarbaka, on the border between Algeria and Tunisia late Tuesday.

Tunisia firefighters have been battling the blaze which has continued to expand, prompting Algeria’s Regional Commission for Disaster Prevention and Relief Organisation to close the border post, authorities said in a press release.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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