2021 Algeria wildfires
 | This article may relate to a different subject or has undue weight on an aspect of the subject. Specifically, the lynching of Djamel Bensmail. (September 2021) |
| 2021 Algeria wildfires | |
|---|---|
 Plumes of smoke over northern Algeria on August 11, 2021 | |
| Date(s) | June – October 2021 |
| Location | Kabylia region, Algeria |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 90 (57 civilians and 33 soldiers) |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Unknown |
| Perpetrator(s) |  Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (per Algerian authorities)[1] |
The 2021 Algeria wildfires were multiple wildfires that happened in the Kabylia region of Algeria since 9 August 2021, which have killed 90 people,[2] including 57 civilians and 33 soldiers. The soldiers died after being trapped in the blaze during rescue operations.[3][4][5][6]
On 9 August, many fires started up in the Kabylia region and elsewhere, and Algerian authorities sent soldiers to help citizens with the blazes and evacuations.
On 10 August, multiple fires burned Mediterranean trees, destroying olive trees and killing cattle and chickens. Many distant villages have very limited water. Some villagers fled, while others tried to hold back the flames themselves, using buckets, branches and rudimentary tools, due to the unavailability of firefighting aircraft.
On 12 August, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said in a live speech on state television that "criminal hands were behind most" of the fires and that 22 people have been arrested.[7]
After 7 days following the appearance of the wildfires, Civil Protection units have successfully extinguished 41 forest fires in nine provinces in the past 24 hours,[8] and complete extinction of fires in Annaba was reported.[9]
On 17 August, all forest fires in Jijel and Sétif were extinguished.[10][11]
On 18 August, the President's Office said that "ultimate responsibility" for fires lay with the Islamist Rachad group and MAK, an ethnopolitical autonomy organization that aims to split the ethnic Berber region of Kabyle from the rest of Algeria, with "support and help from foreign parties, particularly Morocco and the Zionist entity", referring to Israel.[12][13][14]
The 2021 Algerian-Israeli naval incident took place during these wildfires on 27 September.[15]
Casualties
[edit]A report from Sonelgaz revealed that a total of 610 km (380 mi) of electricity network and no less than 710 stations were destroyed by fires in Tizi Ouzou Province.[16] The Local Direction of Agricultural Services (DSA) reported that 5,193 hectares of fruit trees and 19,178 farm animals were burned.[17] Engineers from the Technical Construction Control body (CTC) appraised 1,705 homes damaged by the fires.[18]
In May 2022, the Algerian Directorate General of Forests (DGF) reported that over 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of vegetation were affected by fires in the summer of 2021, with 1,631 fire outbreaks recorded across 21 wilayas.[19] The breakdown of the affected areas is as follows:
- Forests: 260,135 hectares (642,810 acres) (26% of the total area)
- Bushes: 21,040 hectares (52,000 acres) (21.5%)
- Scrub: 16,415 hectares (40,560 acres) (16.5%)
- Fruit Trees: 16,160 hectares (39,900 acres) (36%)
- Esparto: 352 hectares (870 acres) (0.5%)
| Wilaya | Outbreaks |
|---|---|
| Tizi Ouzou | 241 |
| Jijel | 164 |
| Skikda | 125 |
| Bejaia | 112 |
| Tipasa | 97 |
| Bouira | 86 |
| El Tarf | 82 |
| Médéa | 66 |
| Boumerdes | 63 |
| Oum El Bouaghi | 56 |
| Wilaya | Hectares |
|---|---|
| Tizi Ouzou | 43,398 |
| Bejaia | 13,174 |
| Khenchela | 9,837 |
| Guelma | 5,927 |
| El Tarf | 5,090 |
| Annaba | 5,024 |
Killing of Djamel Ben Ismail
[edit] | This section needs to be updated. (July 2024) |
Djamel Ben Ismail, an artist and social activist from Miliana, was brutally killed by a mob days after the fires began in Tizi Ouzou. He was initially accused of arson without substantiation.
A video showing the assault against Ben Ismail went viral online, showing his final minutes as he was burned alive and killed for his alleged role. However, social media users identified him as a prominent artist who was present in the area to help residents put out the fires.[20][21][22]
In the video, Ben Ismail was pleading with the mob, repetitively insisting that he had no role in the wildfires. Several members of the group were shouting racist and insulting slang at the victim, such as sale arabe, which is French for dirty Arab. It is believed that several members of this mob appearing in the footage are affiliated with the MAK, an organization accused by Algerian authorities as having separatist aims and an anti-Arab sentiment.[23] Due to this,[how?] it is strongly believed[by whom?] that Ben Ismail was in fact guiltless.[citation needed]
The Directorate General for National Security (DGSN) affirmed the arrest of 36 suspects, including 3 women, involved in Ben Ismail's assassination and lynching in Larbaâ Nath Irathen, Tizi Ouzou.[24] On 17 August, the DGSN released a video including confessions from new suspects arrested in connection with the case.[25] The criminal court of Dar El Beida sentenced 49 people to death for the homicide and mutilation of Ben Ismail.[26]
References
[edit]- ^ "Algerian journalist, others detained in growing crackdown". 95.5 WSB. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ "Algerian wildfires still raging, death toll hits 90 including 33 soldiers". Africa News. 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Algeria forest fires: At least 65 people killed as fires spread". BBC News. BBC News. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Incendi, 38 morti in Algeria". ansa.it. ansa.it. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "At least 65 killed in Algerian wildfires". Reuters. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
- ^ "Incendi in Algeria, i morti aumentano a 65". ansa.it. ansa.it. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Algeria arrests 22 suspected arsonists over deadly blazes". Al Jazeera. 13 August 2021.
- ^ KHALEF, Fatiha (August 16, 2021). "Extinction de 41 feux de forêts dans plusieurs wilayas". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Dib, Nassima (August 16, 2021). "Extinction totale des incendies à d'Annaba". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Dib, Nassima (August 17, 2021). "Extinction de tous les incendies de forêt à Jijel". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Dib, Nassima (August 17, 2021). "Sétif: extinction totale de tous les incendies de forêts". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ "Algeria accuses groups it links to Morocco, Israel of setting wildfires". Reuters. 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Algeria accuses Morocco of involvement in its deadly fires, to "review" relations". Africanews. 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Algeria blames groups it links to Morocco, Israel for wildfires". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2021.
- ^ Akramov (2021-10-01). "Ce que l'on sait de l'incident avec un sous-marin Israélien -". MENADEFENSE (in French). Retrieved 2023-01-08.
- ^ Dib, Nassima (August 19, 2021). "Incendies de Tizi-Ouzou: plus de 600 km de réseau électrique détruits par les feux". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ Boudjedri, Mounia (22 August 2021). "Tizi-Ouzou/Incendies: plus de 5.100 ha d'arbres fruitiers et plus de 19.100 animaux d'élevage brulés". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
- ^ Dib, Nassima (September 1, 2021). "Incendies de Tizi-Ouzou: Plus de 1700 habitations brûlées expertisées par le CTC". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Dib, Nassima (May 10, 2022). "Feux de forêt: plus 100.000 hectares ravagés dans 21 wilayas durant l'été 2021". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ Lawal, Shola (2022-11-25). "49 People Sentenced to Death for Killing Man Wrongly Blamed for Forest Fires". Vice. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ AfricaNews (2022-11-25). "Algerian court sentences 49 to death for mob killing amid wildfires". Africanews. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ "49 people sentenced to death for mob killing in Algeria". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2022-11-25. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
- ^ Bellgheddouche, Mohamed (October 15, 2023). "Affaire de Djamel Bensamail: un accusé avoue son appartenance au mouvement terroriste "MAK". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- ^ Dib, Nassima (August 15, 2021). "Affaire de l'assassinat de Djamel Bensmail à Tizi Ouzou: arrestation de 36 mis en cause". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Dib, Nassima (17 August 2021). "Assassinat de Djamel Bensmail: nouveaux aveux d'autres mis en cause arrêtés". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on 17 August 2021.
- ^ Ait Seddik, Baha eddine (November 24, 2022). "Meurtre de Djamel Bensmaïl: le chef du Mouvement terroriste "MAK" condamné à la perpétuité". Algeria Press Service (in French). Archived from the original on November 24, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.