Algeria fires | At least 25 soldiers and 17 civilians died in forest fires east of the capital

Weather of Arabia - The Algerian Prime Minister, Ayman bin Abdulrahman, announced that at least 25 soldiers and 17 civilians were killed in forest fires east of the Algerian capital, and a number of other soldiers were injured while fighting the fires that broke out in the bushes of the Kabylie region.

100 fires in 17 Algerian provinces so far

On Tuesday evening (August 10), the official Algerian news agency reported that more than 100 fires had occurred in 17 Algerian provinces. President Abdel Majid Taboun mourned the soldiers who were killed, and praised their role in fighting the fires.

Tebboune wrote in a tweet on Twitter: "With great sadness and sorrow, I heard the news of the martyrdom of 25 members of the People's National Army, after they succeeded in rescuing more than one hundred citizens from the blazing fires, in the mountains of Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou." He said: "We bow with reverence before the souls of the righteous sons of the country. My condolences to all the families of the martyrs."

Causes of fires

Interior Minister Kamal Beljoud spoke of "criminal hands" behind the fires in the country. Beljoud added, upon his visit to the state of Tizi Ouzou, that "50 fires erupting at the same time are among the seven impossible, and the security services will initiate the necessary investigations."

It is reported that Algeria is experiencing a severe heat wave, and temperatures are expected to rise to 46 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, a United Nations scientific report said human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways.

The important study warned of the increasing heat waves, droughts and floods, and the temperature rise at greater rates in more than a decade.

But scientists say a catastrophe could be averted if the world moved quickly. The world has already warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius since the start of the industrial era, and the warming is expected to continue unless governments take action to reduce carbon emissions.

devastating fires

Residents of Tizi Ouzou posted on social media pictures of the fires approaching their homes, after devouring large areas of the neighboring olive fields.

Eastern Algeria witnessed large fires that devoured dozens of hectares, especially in the Aures region, and the fires destroyed large areas of cedar forests in the Shariah Reserve, 60 km west of the capital.

Algeria, the largest African country, contains only 4.1 million hectares of forests, with a low reforestation rate of 1.76%.

The country witnesses forest fires annually, and in 2020 the fires burned about 44,000 hectares.

The fires also caused great destruction in many countries of the Mediterranean region during the past days, as huge fires broke out in Turkey, Greece, Lebanon and Cyprus.

Climate change increases the risks of rising temperatures and drought rates, which helps in the outbreak and spread of fires in forests and dry bushes.