Algeria the death toll from the fires is 38, and the fire brigades control most of them

Algerian firefighting teams were able to control most of the fires that broke out in the country and killed at least 38 people, as the authorities mobilized 1,700 firefighters to put out the fires in 118 locations in 21 provinces.

Algerian firefighting teams managed, Thursday evening, to extinguish the majority of the fires that have claimed at least 38 lives since Wednesday and caused widespread destruction, at a time when deadly forest fires have become a disaster that the country faces annually.

Several sources, including local journalists and firefighting services, indicated that at least 38 people were killed, most of them in the state of El Tarf in northeastern Algeria, near the border with Tunisia, where the temperature reached 48 degrees Celsius.

At least 200 other people suffered burns or respiratory problems due to the smoke, according to Algerian media.

And the Ministry of Justice opened an investigation aimed at determining whether the fires were premeditated, after the Ministry of the Interior spoke of "arbitrary fires."

Colonel Farouk Ashour of the Civil Protection told AFP that "as of 16:00 (17:00 GMT), 16 fires were still burning in 7 states," noting that all the fires were in the most affected areas "in El Tarf and Souq". Ahras is under control."

During the past 24 hours, 1,700 firefighters were mobilized to put out the fires in 118 locations in 21 states, while the army and firefighting teams used water launchers.

The scenes raised fears of a repeat of last year's fires, which killed at least 90 people and destroyed 100,000 hectares of forests and farmland in the north of the country.

In a hospital in the castle, "out of 72 people, nine were admitted to intensive care, nine died, and the rest were discharged," an official in the health sector in El Tarf state told AFP.

The fires coincided with a record heat wave that hit the northeastern states of Algeria, exceeding 45 degrees, and hot and strong southern winds.

The summer of 2021 was the most deadly, with at least 90 people killed in forest fires in the north of the country.