Algeria’s president seeks death penalty for those who start forest fires

By Al Jazeera Staff. Published On 1 Sep 20261 Sep 2026.

Key points

• His call came after Algeria observed three days of national mourning over the deaths of the 12 individuals in the provinces of Jijel, Bejaia, and Tizi Ouzou.
• At least 46 fires are still burning nationwide, and a total of 193 fires have been recorded previously 24 hours.
• Though the country has not carried one out since 1993, algeria's penal code already allows the death penalty for a number of offences.
• Deliberately starting forest fires at present carries up to 30 years in prison, or life imprisonment in some cases.
• The president on Monday ordered authorities to compensate affected families and set up committees to assess losses and determine compensation for damaged property.

Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has pressed the death penalty for anyone who deliberately starts a forest fire after at least 12 residents died in wildfires in the country's northeast.

Tebboune ordered Algeria's justice minister on Sunday to submit a proposal by September 15 to amend the penal code to allow capital punishment for those convicted of intentionally setting forest fires, state media documented.

Tebboune additionally ordered provincial governors to hand over all available information concerning the fires to security authorities, pointing to the possibility that some of the blazes were began deliberately.

"We saw videos and noticed that a number of fires broke out at the same time, at around 1am, which raises many questions, " he remarked.

His call came after Algeria observed three days of national mourning over the deaths of the 12 individuals in the provinces of Jijel, Bejaia, and Tizi Ouzou. At least 54 others were injured.

Meanwhile, the president on Monday ordered authorities to compensate affected families and set up committees to assess losses and determine compensation for damaged property.

He instructed authorities to restore electricity, gas, water and telecommunications in affected areas by Saturday at the latest, and informed housing authorities to arrange repairs to damaged homes.

Tebboune remarked normal life should resume in the affected areas within a week.

For now, algeria's president seeks death penalty for those who start forest fires remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.