Since the beginning of the fires, both Algerian Prime Minister Aiman Benabderrahmane and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune considered they were caused by criminal hands.

According to official tallies, 73 people have been killed, an undetermined number of people have gone missing and there has been huge material damage caused by the fires, especially in the cities of Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou, which have been reported as extinguished on Thursday.

The massive fires started on Monday 9th August and devastated dozens of thousands of hectares in 26 Algerian cities, according to data from official sources circulated by the Algerian news agency APS.

At least 73 people, 33 of whom were soldiers, and an undetermined number of missing people are the human losses of the fire, according to government statistics.

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