The hunters' association (FKNK) said this morning that it found it hard to believe that simultaneous fires last Sunday at Mizieb, L-Ahrax, Mtaheb and Bahrija were coincidental.

Joe Perici Calascione, federation president, noted at a press conference that all these areas were popular hunting sites and this could have been an attempt to disrupt the federation's rural conservation programme.

The blazes, he said, were in some areas, the most extensive in 30 years. Hundreds of trees were lost and it would take many years for the areas to recover. Between 20 and 30 tomna of land was damaged.

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