ALGIERS, June 22 -- A new airbase for firefighting and rescue aircraft was inaugurated on Saturday in the western Algerian province of Mostaganem, according to Algeria's official APS news agency.

The airbase is designed to bolster firefighting operations and medical evacuations by providing landing, refueling, and maintenance facilities for firefighting planes and rescue helicopters. It will also guarantee swift medical responses during emergencies.

According to Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad, who attended the inauguration ceremony of the new airbase, Algeria is strengthening the national firefighting fleet by purchasing more firefighting planes.

In the past three years, wildfires in northern Algeria have claimed the lives of over 100 individuals and devastated vast forested areas.

  - Xinhua