ALGIERS, Algeria — The death toll from flames raging through Algeria’s Berber region climbed to 65 people on Wednesday, including 28 troops, as the president proclaimed a three-day mourning period to remember the victims.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that his North African country would enter a three-day mourning period beginning Thursday, stopping all official activities save for acts of solidarity.
According to the forestry director in Tizi-Ouzou, the regional capital, 18 fires are still burning in the area. Hundreds of flames raged across the north, but the deadliest was centered in Kabyle.
There was no official explanation for a large number of troops killed, but images in Algerian media showed men in army fatigues without proper firefighting gear.
Citizens, primarily teenagers, are assisting in the supply of residents in need, and “solidarity caravans” are on their way to Tizi-Ouzou, according to the online news source TSA.
Heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, floods, and storms are all being exacerbated by climate change caused by the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas, according to climate experts. Drought and heat, both connected to climate change, are fueling wildfires in the western United States and Russia’s Siberia region. Massive flames are also being fueled by extreme temperatures in Greece and Turkey.