ALGIERS: A wildfire has killed two people west of the Algerian capital, the emergency services said Saturday, one of a spate of seasonal blazes to hit the north African country.
Nearby residents were evacuated from their homes after the fire swept through forest near the coastal city of Tipaza trapping and killing two men in a chicken coop.
More than 50 additional firefighters were dispatched from Algiers to help tackle the blaze which broke out on Friday night.
Over the past 24 hours, fires have been reported in northern Algeria in 10 of the country's 58 provinces.
Already in September, authorities in Tipaza announced their worst year for wildfires since 2010, with nearly 900 hectares (2,200 acres) of forest or crops destroyed.
Every year, Algeria loses up to one percent of its vegetation to seasonal wildfires, according to the forestry department.
Last year, it lost 21,048 hectares (more than 52,000 acres) between June 1 and October 31.
Algeria wildfire kills two as 50 firefighters tackle blaze
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Algeria wildfire kills two as 50 firefighters tackle blaze
Syria Kurds chief says ‘all efforts’ being made to salvage deal with Damascus
- Abdi said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds’ de facto army, remained committed to the deal
- The two sides were working toward “mutual understanding” on military integration and counter-terrorism
DAMASCUS: Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said Thursday that “all efforts” were being made to prevent the collapse of talks on an agreement with Damascus to integrate his forces into the central government.
The remarks came days after Aleppo saw deadly clashes between the two sides before their respective leaders ordered a ceasefire.
In March, Abdi signed a deal with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration into the government by year’s end, but differences have held up its implementation.
Abdi said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds’ de facto army, remained committed to the deal, adding in a statement that the two sides were working toward “mutual understanding” on military integration and counter-terrorism, and pledging further meetings with Damascus.
Downplaying the year-end deadline, he said the deal “did not specify a time limit for its ending or for the return to military solutions.”
He added that “all efforts are being made to prevent the collapse of this process” and that he considered failure unlikely.
Abdi also repeated the SDF’s demand for decentralization, which has been rejected by Syria’s Islamist authorities, who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar Assad last year.
Turkiye, an important ally of Syria’s new leaders, sees the presence of Kurdish forces on its border as a security threat.
In Damascus this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stressed the importance of the Kurds’ integration, having warned the week before that patience with the SDF “is running out.”
The SDF control large swathes of the country’s oil-rich north and northeast, and with the support of a US-led international coalition, were integral to the territorial defeat of the Daesh group in Syria in 2019.
Syria last month joined the anti-IS coalition and has announced operations against the jihadist group in recent days.
