Algeria accuses forest fires of arson, death toll rises to six | World news

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ALGIERS (Reuters) – The Algerian government said on Tuesday that arsonists were responsible for dozens of forest fires that have left six people dead and destroyed homes east of the capital.

Plumes of smoke rose from pockets of fire in the forest in the Tizi Ouzou region on Tuesday, as locals used tree branches and sprayed water from plastic containers to attempt to extinguish the flames as best they could.

Several houses were set on fire and families were fleeing to hotels and hostels, witnesses said, as dense smoke obstructed the visibility of firefighters.

“We had a night of horror. My house is completely burnt down,” said Mohamed Kaci, who had fled the village of Azazga to a hotel with his family.

Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud said an investigation would be launched to identify those behind the fires as he brought the death toll to six.

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“Only criminal hands can be at the origin of the simultaneous outbreak of fifty fires in several localities of the province,” he said on state television.

Firefighters and the military were still trying to contain the flames, and Beldjoud said the priority was to avoid more casualties. He has undertaken to compensate the people concerned.

Smaller fires have also ravaged forests in at least 13 provinces since Monday evening.

(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed and Abdelaziz Boumzar; Editing by Alison Williams)

Copyright 2021 Thomson Reuters.

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