Sharjah24 - AFP: Blazes raged across northern Algeria on Thursday as the country observed a national day of mourning for dozens of people killed in the latest wildfires to sweep the Mediterranean.
The North African country has been in the grip of devastating fires since Monday that have claimed at least 71 lives, 43 civilians and 28 soldiers.
On Thursday evening, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the arrest of 22 suspects for arson, saying that "the majority of fires are of criminal origin," in a speech on state television.
Algerian authorities say they suspect widespread arson after so many fires erupted in such a short space of time.
Soldiers and civilian volunteers have joined firefighters on multiple fronts in the effort to extinguish the blazes, that have been fanned by windy and tinder-dry conditions.
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