“A year after the deadly fires of summer 2021, Algeria is once again in mourning because of the forest fires once again”notes the Algerian news site TSAwhich evokes the death of at least 26 people in El Tarf and Sétif this Wednesday, August 17 – provisional assessment which has since been increased to 38 dead throughout the country.
In the wilaya (region) of El Tarf, in the northeast of the country, near the border with Tunisia, the fire spread in a few hours, favored by the heat wave and the wind. With regard to the number of deaths and the circumstances of the deaths, “the government seems to have opted for minimal communication in the management of fires”valued TSA.
“Algeria has no clear policy to safeguard and develop its forests, while the fight against fires must first be based on preventive actions”continues the information site, which criticizes the management of the crisis by the authorities and the lack of means deployed by the firefighters.
A broken down Russian canadair
In an interview given Wednesday to the 8 p.m. newspaper of the national channel ENTV, the Algerian Interior Minister, Kamel Beldjoud, indicated that the Russian canadair chartered by the country in June had been broken down since August 14 and would not be operational again until August 20. He also indicated that all human and material resources had been deployed, including army helicopters.
At the request of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Prime Minister Aïmene Benabderrahmane also visited the wilaya of El Tarf on Wednesday, reports the French-language state daily. L’Expression on his site.
On the public news channel Al-Ikhbariya 3, Nassim Barnaoui, the spokesperson for civil protection, indicated that the fire sometimes spread in just a few minutes, estimating that the fires are probably the consequence of uncivil behavior by forest inhabitants, but also by tourists with have picnics in these places. Barnaoui explained that the nature of the plantations naturally favored the rapid spread of fires.
This did not prevent the Algerian justice ministry from announcing the opening of investigations, reports the economic site Algeria – Eco :
“The competent public prosecutors have ordered the opening of judicial investigations against unknown persons to determine whether they are criminal acts and identify the perpetrators, if any, in order to prosecute them with the required severity. by the seriousness of these acts and in accordance with the laws of the Republic.”