Algeria says all wildfires under control

ALGIERS, Algeria

Algeria's Civil Protection Authority said Wednesday that all wildfires across the country have been brought under control.

"With regard to forest fires, the intervention of civil protection personnel enabled the extinguishing of seven forest fires in six states during the past 24 hours," the authority said in a statement.

The seven fires were extinguished in the provinces of Ain Defla, Blida, Bejaia, Setif, and Khenchela with one fire each, and the remaining two fires were put out in Jijel.

Unprecedented forest fires in the North African country have affected about 20 Algerian provinces in recent weeks.

Last week, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the arrest of 22 people suspected of being behind the deadly wildfires that have killed 69 people, including 28 army personnel.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara