At least 34 people, including ten military personnel, have died in the wildfires that have swept through the northeast Algeria on Sunday night into Monday and were still raging yesterday, according to the latest official casualty count released by the interior ministry on Monday evening.
A previous report spoke of 25 dead and dozens injured due to the fires, which are affecting some fifteen prefectures in the north-eastern part of the country.
The soldiers were surrounded by flames as they were moving away from Beni Kasila, in the province of Bejaya (east), along with residents of nearby towns, the Defense Ministry said.
In neighboring Tunisia, in the border region of Tabarka (northwest), fires that had already caused great destruction last week flared up again. An AFP team found heavy damage in Nefza, 150 kilometers west of Tunis, where aerial vehicles were operating.
About 300 residents of the village of Meloula had to be evacuated “by sea” as a precaution, due to strong gusts of wind that fueled the flames, said Houssem Eddin Jhabli, a spokesman for the Tunisian national guard, according to AFP and Athenian news agency.
On Sunday and Monday, 97 fires were counted in 16 prefectures, according to the Ministry of the Interior. Fanned by winds, the flames reached residential areas in three prefectures, where 1,500 residents were ordered to evacuate, according to the same source.
Algeria is facing a heatwave, with temperatures reaching 48°C yesterday, leaving vegetation completely dry and increasing the risk of fire. In Tunisia, thermometers showed 49° Celsius.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Taboun expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Around 8,000 civil protection workers and 525 vehicles were continuing night-time extinguishing efforts in 11 prefectures, where fires ravaged forests and crops. Aircraft and helicopters were also involved in the operations.
The general prosecutor’s office in Bejaya ordered a preliminary investigation to determine the causes of the fires and identify the perpetrators of possible arson.
Every summer the north and east of Algeria are hit by wildfires, a phenomenon exacerbated by climate change, bringing droughts and heatwaves.
In August 2022, giant wildfires claimed the lives of 37 people.
In the summer of 2021, the deadliest fires broke out in decades, with over 90 dead, especially in Kabylia.
Source: News Beast
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