Algeria president seeks death penalty for arsonists after deadly forest fires

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has said he wants to reinstate the death penalty for arsonists, following a wave of deadly forest fires.

The official death toll stands at 12, but independent news outlets believe the figure is much higher.

The president ordered the justice ministry to introduce changes to the criminal law introducing capital punishment for arsonists. Capital punishment remains in the country’s penal code for some offences, but no execution has been carried out since 1993.

More than 100 wildfires have been recorded in recent days in the north-east of the country, most of which have been extinguished. On Saturday, Tebboune said foul play had not been ruled out.

The Algerian president said necessary investigations would be carried out especially in view of the intensity of the fires.

On Sunday, he gave a 15 September deadline for amendments to provide for the death sentence for anyone convicted of intentionally starting a fire in forested areas.

Under the current law, deliberately starting forest fires is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, or life imprisonment in certain cases.

Deadly blazes swept through large swathes of northern Algeria last week, causing widespread destruction, injuring dozens and displacing thousands of people.

Investigative journalist Nozha Khelalef has been gathering the names of those believed to have died in the fires from death notices posted by families and information shared by some local authorities.

Her tally, listed on the independent news website Twala, puts the death toll at 200.

The fires erupted amid an intense heatwave in northern Africa, with Algeria and Tunisia particularly affected.

Algerian civil authorities were on Sunday afternoon still battling to battle some of the fires, with the Algerian Press Service noting that 18 out 19 fires that had broken out in the previous 24 hours had been extinguished

The Algerian president ordered that compensation be paid to the families who have been affected, as well as repairs to damaged homes and essential services.

He said there would be investigations into the extent of the damage and losses caused by the fires.

While Algeria regularly experiences forest fires around the summer months, climate change has exacerbated the intensity and severity of recent wildfires in the country.