Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is aiming to introduce the death penalty for arsonists, after 12 people were killed in wildfires that swept through the northeast of the country last week.
Mr Tebboune has given the Minister of Justice until September 15 to implement the change. He was speaking at a meeting held to discuss the wildfires and revealed that a number of people had been arrested following last week's fires.
“Whoever thinks that the law will not be applied, let him know that society and justice will take their due from him," he said, according to state news agency APS.
The death penalty is in the country's criminal code for several offences, but its use has effectively been suspended since 1993. Under the current law, deliberately igniting forest fires is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a clause which the president is seeking to change.
Last week's wildfires came after an exceptional heatwave swept across North Africa, with Tunisia and Algeria particularly affected.
Algeria's civil protection services recorded 154 wildfires across the country on Wednesday, 36 of which were in Bejaia province alone. Half of them have been brought under control.
The fatalities included five people in Jijel province, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou. Fifty-four people suffered burn injuries, including six in critical condition who are currently in intensive care, Interior Minister Said Sayoud said.
Mr Tebboune declared three days of national mourning. "It is not normal for fires to break out at the same time, like the one that broke out at one o'clock in the morning and spread quickly without any wind," he said.
Work is underway at the Ministry of Finance to calculate compensation for those who have been affected "regardless of the nature of the losses", APS quoted the president as saying.
Alternative housing is also being provided for those who lost their homes, and new standards will be implemented for building homes in forested areas, APS added.
