Algeria to Compensate Wildfire Victims Ahead of New School Year
Algeria will begin paying compensation to households hit by this summer’s forest fires before the start of the upcoming social and school year, Interior, Local Government and Transport Minister Saïd Sayoud announced on Thursday during a field visit to Tlemcen.
Acting on instructions from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Sayoud said local committees have already been set up to conduct a detailed census of all losses—homes, crops, livestock and other property—so that payments can be processed “as quickly as possible.” The minister was in the province to present presidential condolences to the family of Mohamed Merah, who died in the Ouled Mimoun fires.
On the ground, Sayoud reported a “marked improvement” compared with previous days. All blazes that had threatened lives and property are now under control, with only a few isolated hotspots still being extinguished by Civil Protection teams.
To bolster operations, authorities mobilised an aerial fleet of 18 aircraft: 12 dedicated water-bombers, two large fixed-wing planes from the People’s National Army and several helicopters belonging to both the army and the Civil Protection directorate. The air assets, combined with ground crews, have “significantly increased” firefighting efficiency, the minister noted.
Responding to residents’ concerns about a long-delayed 60-bed hospital for Ouled Mimoun, Sayoud confirmed that the project’s freeze has been lifted and technical studies are finished. The file will now go to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister so that construction can be budgeted for next year.
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