At least 65 people, including 28 soldiers, have lost their lives in the fires that have ravaged northern Algeria since Monday evening, especially in Kabylia, according to a new assessment provided on Wednesday by Algerian national television. “The toll of forest fires rose to 65 dead (28 soldiers and 37 civilians), mostly in the wilaya of Tizi Ouzou,” the television reported, adding that 12 soldiers were also “hospitalized in critical condition” .
Firefighters supported by soldiers and volunteers are fighting Wednesday to try to stop the mad race of flames, which have ravaged northern Algeria since the day before, multiple fires that have killed at least 65 people including 28 soldiers.
Firefighters at work to stop the flames
These fires, for which the authorities have cited “criminal” leads, affect several regions of Kabylia, in particular Tizi Ouzou. Impressive images, accompanied by calls for help, circulate on social networks, with charred trunks, dying cattle, suffocated, and villages under siege. In images, we can see residents desperately trying to smother a burst of fire with the help of small branches. As Algeria faces an extreme heat wave, winds are spreading the fires and complicating the task of rescuers, according to Youcef Ould Mohamed, a local forestry official quoted by the official APS agency.
Civil protection spokesman Nassim Barnaoui told reporters on Wednesday that a total of 69 fires were still active in 17 wilayas (prefecture). The most important are in the wilaya of Tizi Ouzou, which has also suffered the most loss of life. “I left all my belongings in my village and I fled with my wife and my three children to the town of Tizi Ouzou,” said Abdelhamid, a trader from the village of Beni Yeni. “Fortunately, I have an apartment in the center of Tizi Ouzou, where I took refuge with my family and some neighbors,” he said.
Solidarity is organized
Since Tuesday, calls for the organization of solidarity convoys with the inhabitants of the villages of Tizi Ouzou have multiplied on social networks. Internet users are calling in particular to collect food, medicine and help bring water to fight fires.
Several trucks left the capital carrying equipment donated by citizens and traders. And a “Doctors” page on Facebook posted an appeal to volunteer to help the staff at Tizi Ouzou hospital. Other appeals were made on social media urging authorities to seek international assistance.
“Criminal origin”
The criminal trail was mentioned by the Algerian authorities, who however gave no details. Algerian public radio announced on Tuesday the arrest of three “arsonists” in Médéa. A fourth was arrested in Annaba, according to APS. According to the Minister of the Interior, Kamel Beldjoud, about fifty fires “of criminal origin” stirred up by the weather conditions began on Monday evening. The Prime Minister, Aïmène Benabderahmane, told him about more than 70 fires in 18 wilayas (prefectures) in the north of the country. Civil protection reported about a hundred fires in 16 wilayas.
The cities of Bouira, Sétif, Khenchela, Guelma, Bejaïa, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Boumerdès, Tiaret, Médéa, Tébessa, Blida and Skikda are affected, the general directorate of civil protection said on Twitter.
Multiplication of fires
Every year, the north of Algeria is affected by forest fires. In 2020, nearly 44,000 hectares of coppice went up in smoke. This phenomenon is amplifying as fires multiply across the globe. They are associated with various phenomena anticipated by scientists due to global warming.
The increase in temperature, the increase in heat waves and the drop in precipitation in places is an ideal combination for the development of fires. The extreme heat must continue until the weekend in the Maghreb, until August 15 according to Algerian meteorological services, with temperatures reaching 46 degrees.
In neighboring Tunisia, the capital Tunis beat its all-time record on Tuesday, with 49 degrees. About fifteen fire starts were recorded in the north and north-west, fortunately without causing any casualties, according to Moez Triaa, spokesperson for civil protection. On the northern shore of the Mediterranean, Greece and Turkey have been the hardest hit in the past two weeks, with a spate of violent fires that have left eight people dead on Turkish coasts and three in Greece.