Algeria: 19 fires still active in the north of the country

Firefighters tried Sunday to extinguish another 19 active fires in 10 prefectures in northern Algeria, affected by forest fires which have killed 90 people since last Monday, including 33 soldiers, according to the authorities.

Read also: In Algeria, the power weakened by the fires and the Covid

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" civil protection said in a statement.

She also specifies that there were only two fires to control in Tizi Ouzou, which recorded the largest fires and human losses.

33 fires extinguished

In the past 24 hours, civil protection units have successfully put out 33 fires in 12 prefectures, including 17 fires in Tizi Ouzou alone.

The army also mobilized five Russian Mi-26 helicopters, in addition to two French water bombers - made available by Paris via the European Union (EU) - and a Spanish plane to bring the latest forest fires under control.

Read also: Algeria: the diaspora on the front line in the face of fires and the health crisis

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Thursday that most of the fires were of “

”

origin

and announced that 22 suspects had been arrested.

And the weather service warned on Sunday that the rise in temperatures continued in the north of the country, reaching 44 degrees.

44,000 hectares in 2020

The largest country in Africa, Algeria has only 4.1 million hectares of forests, with a meager reforestation rate of 1.76%.

Every year, the north of the country is affected by forest fires.

In 2020, nearly 44,000 hectares of coppice went up in smoke.

The fires that are increasing across the globe are associated with various phenomena anticipated by scientists due to global warming.