Algeria fires fanned by winds, extreme heat kill 34

Wildfires raging across Algeria during a heatwave have killed more than 30 people and forced mass evacuations, the government said on Monday.

As temperatures hit 48 degrees Celsius in parts of the North African country, it recorded 97 blazes across 16 provinces, fanned by strong winds. The fires killed at least 34 people, including 10 soldiers, as they raged through residential areas.

The three provinces in Algeria's Mediterranean coastal region have seen the worst of the fires. The interior ministry said that 7,500 firefighters and 350 firetrucks were mobilised with aerial support to fight the flames. Operations were underway to extinguish fires in six provinces, it added, calling on citizens to "avoid areas affected by the fires" and to report new blazes on toll-free phone numbers.