Fires have destroyed more than than 10,000 hectares (38.6 square miles) of scrubland and forest in Algeria within one week, the country's forestry department (DGF) said in a statement Sunday.

The speed of the destruction compares to more than 25,000 hectares of forestry ravaged by fire between June 1 and September 12.

The latest wave of fires -- concentrated mostly in eastern Algeria -- coincided with an exceptional heatwave that hit the north African country.

The cause of the fires is still unknown, but the blazes have led to sometimes violent protests in the areas most vulnerable to them.