Kabylia in flames: the algerian state, arsonist by neglect

Statement by the World Amazigh Congress (CMA) Paris, 19.08.2976 – 31.08.2026

Once again, Kabylia is burning. Once again, the Kabyles are counting their dead, their scorched forests and villages, while Algiers looks away, arms its police, and jails those who dare to demand accountability. Five years after the deadly blaze of 2021, nothing has changed: not the resources, not the investigations, not the political will. For the World Amazigh Congress, these recurring fires are not a climate fatality, but the direct product of the organized negligence of a state that would rather fund its army than protect its people.

The World Amazigh Congress (CMA) bows before the memory of the victims and extends its sincere condolences to the families, as well as its full solidarity with the injured and all victims of this disaster.

Fires that are no natural fatality

While global warming makes fires more likely, it is not, except in rare cases, what actually sparks them: nine times out of ten, fire is lit by people, whether through negligence or intent.

In August 2021, Kabylia had already been severely burned, with between 90 and 300 deaths, according to various sources. In 2023, new fires left dozens dead and caused massive destruction. To this day, no serious investigation has been carried out to determine the causes of these repeated disasters, assess their impact, or recommend prevention and protection measures. For the CMA, this opacity points to one certainty: if the government refuses any investigation, it is because it has something to hide.

A state that won’t own its responsibility

For the CMA, the primary party responsible for these recurring fires is the Algerian government. Despite its speeches and promises, it has failed to equip the country with any credible plan to prevent fires, protect people and property, or fight fires effectively. The population was given neither the order nor the means to evacuate threatened areas, which explains the excessive loss of life.

Algeria, which apparently cannot afford water-bomber aircraft, nevertheless spent more than 25 billion US dollars on its military in 2025, 25% of the state budget, the second-highest ratio in the world after Ukraine, and the largest military budget in Africa.

And when citizens demand accountability from the government, they are arrested, convicted, and imprisoned, like Mira Moknache, Wafia Tijani, and hundreds of others.

A population prevented from organizing

Not content with letting Kabylia burn, the Algerian government bans and blocks any local initiative. The Wali (governor) of Tizi Ouzou issued an order (No. 272 of 27 January 2026) banning everyone from “access to forest areas and the use of hiking trails” from 1 May to 31 October 2026, without any consultation with local stakeholders, effectively barring Kabyles from entering their own forests.

Such an action plan should have been drawn up as early as 2021, through broad consultation with municipalities, village committees, elders, socio-cultural and environmental associations, and Kabyle universities (Tizi Ouzou, Béjaïa, Bouira). The effective participation of local actors, who know their territory and its vulnerabilities better than anyone — is a sine qua non for the success of any fire prevention and firefighting policy.

An indigenous people whose rights are ignored

The CMA recalls that the Kabyles constitute a people with their own territory, language, culture, institutions, and customary law, forged over centuries. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides that such peoples must participate in decisions on matters concerning them, through representatives of their own choosing (Article 18), and that states must obtain their free, prior, and informed consent before adopting any measure likely to affect them (Article 19).

As the Kabyles and Amazighs of Algeria put it: “We are not asking you to act for us, we are asking you not to stop us from acting”, and, in any case: “Do nothing for us without us.”

The death penalty is not an answer

The solution certainly does not lie in the announcement by Algerian head of state Mr. Tebboune to carry out the death penalty against arsonists. That would first require impartial investigations, an independent judiciary, respect for the rights of the defense, and fair trials, none of which is currently the case.

Conclusion

For the CMA, the true party responsible is the Algerian state, which not only fails to fulfill its duty to protect people and property, but also bans and prevents the population from organizing to protect their lives and heritage. Worse still, by letting fires destroy Kabylia every year since 2021, the Algerian government appears to be seeking to impoverish the Kabyles in order to increase their dependence and secure their submission to the state.

Finally, the CMA strongly denounces the staged displays and excessive media coverage surrounding “Algerian national solidarity” toward the disaster-stricken regions, a natural act of mutual aid that should remain discreet, turned instead into a loud, obscene spectacle designed to conceal the state’s failures and divert public attention.

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The CMA Bureau Paris, 19.08.2976 – 31.08.2026