Algeria arrests 4 people over deadly wave of forest fires

Algerian authorities on Wednesday arrested four people accused of deliberately starting forest fires in the eastern province of Constantine, placing them in pretrial detention as investigations continue.

In a statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Sidi M’Hamed Court in Algiers said the arrests stemmed from three separate cases involving what it described as criminal groups responsible for setting fires in state-owned forest areas.

In an unprecedented move in wildfire-related cases, prosecutors published the names and photographs of the suspects.

According to the statement, investigators arrested Saber Ayoub Ben Fougal and Abderrahmane Fouaizia after recovering video footage that allegedly showed them setting fire to brushland near the Pine neighborhood in Constantine.

Authorities also arrested Farouk Lemouissi, who is accused of setting fire to shrubs and trees along Soummam Road in Constantine. Prosecutors said video footage captured him igniting the blaze.

In a third case, Saif Eddine Ben Khalifa was caught in the act of setting fire to two piles of copper wires along the highway linking Constantine and Annaba, causing a blaze that burned about two hectares of forest, according to prosecutors.

The prosecutor’s office said the four suspects were referred to judicial authorities on Wednesday and placed under formal investigation on charges, including committing acts of sabotage that endangered lives, public safety and property, as well as intentionally setting fire to state-owned forest land.

Following their initial questioning, the investigating judge ordered all four suspects into pretrial detention.

Prosecutors said the sabotage charges are punishable by death under Algerian law.

Although Algeria has observed a moratorium on executions since 1993, courts continue to issue death sentences in certain cases, which are not carried out and are effectively commuted to life imprisonment.

The arrests came as Algeria battles one of its worst wildfire seasons in recent years.

Late Tuesday, authorities evacuated residents from fire-threatened areas and transferred patients from a hospital in the town of Seraidi in the eastern province of Annaba after rapidly spreading wildfires approached populated areas. Civil Protection said all available personnel and equipment, supported by aerial firefighting resources, had been deployed to contain the blazes.

The Interior Ministry said six people have died in forest fires that have affected several provinces in recent days. As of Tuesday evening, Civil Protection said firefighters had extinguished 104 of 170 reported wildfires but were still battling 66 active fires across 19 provinces.

The fires have coincided with more than two weeks of record-breaking heat, with temperatures reaching 49C (120.2F) in Mediterranean coastal cities, accompanied by strong, hot southerly winds.

According to Civil Protection, Algeria recorded 3,719 wildfires between May 1 and July 20, compared with 1,501 during the same period in 2025, an increase of nearly 150%.

​​​​​​​The General Directorate of Forests said the fires destroyed more than 1,666 hectares (4,117 acres) of vegetation during the same period, compared with 467 hectares (1,154 acres) a year earlier, marking the country’s highest level of vegetation loss since the devastating wildfires of 2021.

Source: Anadolu Agency