WILDFIRE RIPS THROUGH ALGERIA, KILLING 65 PEOPLE INCLUDING 28 SOLDIERS

Wed 11 August 2021:

At least 65 people, 28 of them soldiers deployed as relief firefighters, have been killed as dozens of wildfires raged for a second day in Algeria Wednesday, state television reported.

“The death toll from the forest fires has climbed to 65 dead — 28 soldiers and 37 civilians — most of them in Tizi Ouzou district” east of the capital, it said.

Another 12 soldiers were “in hospital in a critical condition”, the television added, following the latest wildfires to hit the Mediterranean this summer.

Dozens of separate fires have raged through forest areas across northern Algeria since Monday night and Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud accused arsonists of igniting the flames, without providing more details on the allegations.

“Only criminal hands can be behind the simultaneous outbreak of about 50 fires across several localities,” he said.

Speaking on state television on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane said the government was in “advanced talks with (foreign) partners to hire planes and help speed up the process of extinguishing fires,” he added.

Forest fires in Algeria (Africa) killed 65 people including 28 soldiers.#Algeria #Algeria_forest_fires #algeriafire pic.twitter.com/miiqAjqQkS

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 11, 2021

Forest fires in Algeria (Africa) killed 65 people including 28 soldiers.#Algeria #Algeria_forest_fires pic.twitter.com/gjMVa6JW54

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 11, 2021

Forest fires in Algeria (Africa) killed 65 people including 28 soldiers.#Algeria #Algeria_forest_fires pic.twitter.com/7Tvz5WpyVk

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 11, 2021

Firefighters and the army were still trying to contain the blazes, and Beldjoud said the priority was to avoid more victims. He vowed to compensate those affected.

Smaller fires have ravaged forests in at least 16 provinces of the North African country since Monday night.

Last week, a European Union atmosphere monitor said the Mediterranean had become a wildfire hotspot as massive blazes engulfed forests in Turkey and Greece, aided by a heatwave.

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