President Abdelmadjid Tebboune wants the death penalty brought back for people convicted of deliberately starting forest fires after more than 100 blazes killed at least 12 people across northern Algeria.
At least 12 people have died. Dozens are injured. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes as more than 100 wildfires ripped through the north-east of the country in recent days. The physical toll is heavy, but the political reaction is even heavier.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is not just blaming the weather. He suspects foul play.
On Sunday, he gave his justice ministry a strict deadline of September 15. By then, he wants the criminal law amended to bring back the death penalty for anyone convicted of intentionally starting a forest fire.
This is a big shift. While capital punishment is technically still in Algeria’s penal code, the country has not executed anyone since 1993. Right now, deliberately burning a forest carries up to 30 years in prison, or life in extreme cases. Tebboune wants that to change entirely, ordering necessary investigations into the sheer intensity of the blazes.
Out on the ground, civil authorities are still battling the remaining hotspots. The Algerian Press Service noted they managed to put out 18 of the 19 fires that sparked in a single 24-hour window. The president has also ordered compensation for the grieving families and repairs for damaged homes.
SEE ALSO: Nearly 90,000 Told to Leave as Wildfire Hits the Edge of Reno
But the fires are not just about matches and arsonists. Northern Africa is in the grip of a brutal heatwave. Climate change has made these summer months far more dangerous, turning dry brush into tinder.
The deadline for the new law is set. But changing the penal code will not cool the air, and it will not bring back the forests that are already gone. As the smoke clears, the country is left to figure out how to survive a summer that feels hotter and more hostile than ever before.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
