More than 100 hospitalised as Algeria wildfires damage homes

More than 100 people were hospitalised after wildfires reached nearly 150 homes in Seraidi, a town in north-eastern Algeria, Interior Minister Said Sayoud said on Wednesday. The fires began on Tuesday in Seraidi, west of Annaba, in an area surrounded by forests.

Sayoud told reporters at a local hospital that most of the hospitalised people were in a stable and reassuring condition. He said more than 150 homes had been affected by the fires. Civil protection crews were still fighting the blazes on Wednesday morning.

Algeria has been dealing with hundreds of wildfires for days. The interior ministry said at least six people had died in several provinces.

Northern Algeria is hit by forest fires every summer, a phenomenon the source says is worsened by drought and climate change. In recent years, dozens of people have been killed, and thousands of hectares of forest or farmland have been destroyed, along with many homes.

An Algiers court said Wednesday that four people had been placed in pre-trial detention for allegedly setting fires in forest areas around Constantine province in north-eastern Algeria.