Algeria: 4 suspects arrested over starting wildfires
4 individuals have been placed in provisional detention and arrested by Algerian authorities, as they are suspected of being responsible for some of the most violent wildfires in Algeria. According to TSA, the four men were remanded in custody by the investigating judge at the Sidi M’Hamed Court in Algiers as part of the investigation into the deadly wildfires on the 22nd of July.
The investigation and their arrest relate to fires started in the eastern province of Constantine. In an official statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Sidi M’Hamed Court in Algiers said the arrests stemmed from three separate fires. The suspects are mainly accused of setting fires to state-owned forest areas.
The prosecutor’s office released the names and faces of the men arrested. Two of them, Sayer Ayoub Fougal and Abderrahmane Fouaizia, were taken in by the police after they recovered footage showing the two men setting fire to brushland near the Pine neighbourhood in Constantinople.
The last third suspect is Farouk Lemouissi, accused of setting fire to trees and bushes near Constantinople, while the fourth one is named Said Eddine Ben Khalifa and is linked to the burning of two piles of copper wires along the highway from Constantinople to Annaba, causing a blaze that set fire to two hectares of forest.
The four suspects have been charged with committing acts of sabotage that endangered lives, public safety and property, as well as intentionally setting fire to state-owned forest land.
The arrests come at a time of crisis in Algeria, linked to an enormous number of wildfires on the territory since the beginning of the summer. In certain cities of Algeria such as Bejaia, temperatures have reached 55° C.
On the 21st of July, Algerian authorities recorded 170 wildfires in 19 regions. Firefighters have managed to extinguish 104, while 66 are still going. Since the 8th of July, 1555 wildfires have been recorded.
The Algerian authorities have declared 6 people dead due to the wildfires, as firefighters are still battling hundreds.
TSA, AA, Maghrebi.org
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