Wildfires that have swept across northeastern Algeria for nearly two weeks have killed at least six people, according to the Interior Ministry, and forced the evacuation of more than 100 patients from a hospital in the coastal wilaya of Annaba. The most dramatic episode unfolded on Tuesday night in the forested commune of Seraïdi, where flames descended from the surrounding massif and damaged approximately 150 homes. Interior Minister Saïd Sayoud, who travelled to the area with a ministerial delegation, told local media that a “catastrophe was avoided” thanks to the speed of the emergency response, and that all evacuated patients were in stable condition.

The national civil protection directorate reported 195 fire outbreaks in a single 24-hour period ending Wednesday morning, of which 142 had been extinguished and 53 remained active across 15 wilayas. Skikda recorded the highest number of ongoing blazes, followed by El Tarf, Béjaïa, and Jijel. Reinforcements, including mobile columns from southern and western regions, have been deployed alongside aerial assets: an army BE200 water-bomber in Annaba, AT-802 aircraft in Tlemcen, and MI-26 helicopters in Béjaïa. The Ministry of Agriculture said that 1,550 fires had been recorded over the previous 12 days, 383 of them in forested areas, as a severe heatwave and strong winds created what officials described as exceptionally difficult conditions.

Authorities in Algiers announced the first arrests linked to the fires. The public prosecutor at the Sidi M’hamed court said four individuals had been taken into custody in Constantine on suspicion of deliberately setting fires in three separate incidents, including one in which two men were filmed igniting brush near a residential area. The suspects have been placed under pre-trial detention on charges of sabotage endangering life, security, and property — offences that can carry the death penalty — as well as arson of state forest lands. The prosecutor’s office took the unusual step of releasing the names and photographs of the accused. Minister Sayoud said security investigations were continuing to determine whether the fires were of criminal or natural origin.

As of Wednesday afternoon, firefighting operations were still under way, with the civil protection describing the situation as exceptional in its geographic spread. The government has pledged to compensate all victims and instructed local walis to begin field assessments of the damage. The toll remains provisional, and no further deaths have been reported from the Seraïdi fire.