Under the title "Algeria: Criminal Act Behind the Fires, Locations Selected Precisely," the Arabic website reported that as the toll of the wildfires in Algeria rose to 65 deaths, Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Ben Abderrahman confirmed that initial investigations have shown that the wildfires in the country are the result of a criminal act. In a statement made yesterday, he noted that while current natural conditions facilitate the spread of such fires, criminal hands are not far from them.
He also mentioned that initial analyses in the Tizi Ouzou area demonstrated that the locations where these fires broke out were precisely selected to cause the greatest amount of damage. He explained that the chosen sites are in areas with rugged and difficult terrain that impede the arrival of rescue efforts.
Furthermore, he reported that law enforcement managed to arrest criminals in the city, with one of them admitting to his criminal act. The Prime Minister emphasized that the state would not tolerate tracking, punishing, and prosecuting the criminals involved in these criminal acts against innocent citizens and the country's resources.
The fires have swept through 17 Algerian provinces, with more than 100 fires recorded, according to the official Algerian news agency announced on Tuesday evening. The Algerian Prime Minister also announced the death of at least 25 soldiers, and several other soldiers were injured while battling the fires that erupted in the forests of the Kabylie region.
