Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that most of the fires in his country were "criminal hands", and announced the arrest of 22 suspects for setting fires in several states, the most dangerous of which was in the province of Tizi Ouzou (east of the capital).
President Tebboune added - in a speech he addressed to the Algerian people, and broadcast on official television - that the number of suspects of setting fire to the country's forests reached 22, including 11 in the province of Tizi Ouzou, 2 in the Jijel province (east) and 4 in Annaba (east).
He did not mention the areas in which the remaining suspects were arrested.
He said that the authorities will confront anyone who harms national unity, and those who try to differentiate between the army and the people and between the army and the state, noting that it was the citizens who helped the state in arresting those suspected of starting forest fires.
Tebboune explained that the European countries did not initially respond to his country's request to send planes to confront the fires due to its preoccupation with the fires in Greece and Turkey, and that they are now beginning to arrive.
Tebboune announced in his speech that two Spanish planes would arrive Friday in Algeria to contribute to fighting the fires, while a Swiss plane would arrive three days later.
The outcome of forest fires in Algeria, according to what was reported by the Public Prosecutor of the Judicial Council (Court) of Tizi Ouzou Governorate (100 km east of the capital), Abdelkader Amirouch, during a press conference on Wednesday, rose to at least 69 people, including 28 soldiers and 41 civilians.
On Wednesday, Tebboune declared national mourning for the lives of the victims for a period of 3 days, starting from Thursday, and 18 Algerian governorates have witnessed, since days, large fires, exacerbated by a severe heat wave and strong southern winds.