Desolation in Algeria after the fires that have left at least 38 dead

• Africa Death toll rises to 65 in fires in northern Algeria

• Global warming Spain, hot spot of climate change: 3.5 degrees more, fires and droughts

Firefighters have tried this Thursday to control the flames still active in the north and east of

, the day after the violent fires that have left at least

and scenes of desolation.

Thirty people -

- have died in the El Tarf area, five in Souk Ahras, two in Setif and one in Guelma, all of them eastern towns, according to civil protection, local journalists and 'Ennahar' television.

In addition, more than 200 people have been injured, according to local media.

Near El Tarf, a city of 100,000 inhabitants,

," a local journalist told AFP.

"Most of the dead were surrounded while visiting an animal park," the reporter said.

An AFP team has confirmed "significant damage to the park, the death of a person who helped others flee" and "12 other people trapped in a bus."

The prime minister, Ayman Benabderrahmane, has traveled this Thursday morning to El Tarf, according to television.

The authorities fear "new sources of fire due to strong winds," according to the AFP team, which has confirmed the closure of numerous roads.

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In total,

in recent days and several were still active this Thursday.

Civil protection and army helicopters try to put out the flames.

In Souk Ahras, 200 kilometers from there, a major fire was still active in a mountainous area, according to a local journalist contacted by AFP who has spoken of scenes of panic in the city of 500,000 inhabitants.

According to this reporter,

near a forest area

.

Television images have shown residents fleeing their burning houses, including mothers with their children in their arms.

More than 350 families have had to be evacuated from this town.

Algeria has rented a Russian Beriev BE 200 seaplane, but, after being used in several places, it has suffered a breakdown and will not be operational again until Saturday, Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud acknowledged on Wednesday.

Thermometers at 48ºC

Every year, the north of Algeria is affected by forest fires, a phenomenon that is accentuated under the effect of climate change.

On Wednesday, in towns such as El Tarf, Guelma or Souk Ahras temperatures

.

The summer of 2021 has so far been the deadliest in the country.

At least 90 people died last year in the forest fires that devastated the north of the country, where

.

Global warming increases the probability of heat waves and droughts and, in turn, fires.

Since the beginning of August, 106 fires have broken out in Algeria, destroying 800 hectares of forest and 1,800 hectares of undergrowth.

These latest fires revive the debate that already stirred Algerian public opinion last summer about the

.

The situation seems to have worsened after the

over the Western Sahara folder, in which Algiers supports the Saharawi independence fighters while Madrid changed its position to support Morocco's autonomy plan.

According to the 'Mena Defense' site, the Algerian authorities have canceled a contract with the Spanish company Plysa, a specialized subsidiary of the airline Air Nostrum, for the supply of seven amphibious aircraft. After the cancellation of the contract, no plan B has been foreseen for replace all Spanish planes, according to various media.

Algeria, the largest country in Africa, has only 4.1 million hectares of forest, with a meager reforestation rate of 1.76%.

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