At least 42 people have died in forest fires in Algeria. 25 soldiers alone have died in rescue operations, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Twitter on Tuesday evening. In the region of Tizi Ouzo, which has been particularly affected by fires, seven civilians also died, according to the civil protection authority of the North African country. Two others were also seriously injured.
However, the soldiers managed to free more than 100 people from the blazing flames in Tizi Ouzo and in the Bejaia region east of the capital Algiers, Tebboune continued.
A total of 103 fires have now broken out in 17 regions in the North African country, the state news agency APS reported, citing the competent authority for forests in the country. In Tizi Ouzou alone, 22 fires raged in the evening.
Houses there were reduced to rubble, local media reported. Hotels have been instructed to take in people who have lost their homes to the flames. From the capital, trucks with tents, beds, medicine and food were supposed to roll to Tizi Ouzou in the evening. There were initially no reports of deaths or injuries from the other regions.
Most of the fires raged in Kabylia, a heavily forested and densely populated mountainous region east of the capital Algiers. Interior Minister Beldjoud said during his visit to Tizi Ouzou that the fires were “criminal in nature”. It is “impossible for 50 fires to break out at the same time”. According to media reports, four suspected arsonists were arrested in the province of Medea, 80 kilometers west of Algiers. Many places in Algeria are reporting temperatures well above 40 degrees these days. The heat wave is expected to continue for the time being.
A number of countries in the Mediterranean are currently struggling with severe forest fires. In Greece, for example, 586 fires had broken out across the country in recent days. The island of Euboea is currently particularly hard hit. Several places were evacuated there. Dozens of fires are also raging in Italy. In Turkey, the situation has now relaxed somewhat. Neighboring Tunisia is also currently suffering from a heat wave. According to the weather agency, a record temperature of 48 degrees was measured in the capital Tunis on Tuesday.
