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Two French-Moroccan holidaymakers were killed at sea by the Algerian coast guard. (illustrative photo)
MOROCCO – This drama is likely to reignite strong regional tensions between Algeria and Morocco. Two French-Moroccan holidaymakers were killed by Algerian coastguards when they got lost on jet skis in an Algerian maritime area on the border with Morocco, Moroccan media reported on Thursday (August 31), citing a witness to the drama.
According to the news site Le360, Bilal Kissi and Abdelali Mechouer were killed by fire from the Algerian Coast Guard in the Algerian maritime area on Tuesday evening after they got lost at sea on their jet skis near the Moroccan coastal town of Saïdia.
This popular summer seaside resort is known for its long beach and water activities.
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A third man, also French-Moroccan, Smaïl Snabé, was arrested by the Algerian Coast Guard and brought before an Algerian prosecutor on Wednesday, reports Le360, citing “consistent sources”.
Its borders have been closed since 1994 and Algeria cut diplomatic relations with Morocco in August 2021, accusing Rabat of “hostile acts,” a decision Rabat said was “totally unjustified.”
“We got lost, but we kept going until we found ourselves in Algeria”
Israel’s recent recognition of “Moroccan sovereignty” over the disputed territory of Western Sahara has further heightened tensions with Algiers, which has denounced “foreign maneuvers” at its gates.
The four young people – three French-Moroccans and one Moroccan – were each sitting on a jet ski.
“We got lost, but we kept going until we found ourselves in Algeria. “We knew we were in Algeria because a black Algerian zodiac came towards us, it started moving in zigzags as if they wanted to overthrow us,” Mohamed Kissi, Bilal’s older brother, told the Moroccan website Al Omk.
He said he was picked up by the Moroccan navy and taken back to the Saidia marina.
“They (the inhabitants of the zodiac) shot at us. Thank god I didn’t get hit but my brother and friend killed them. They arrested my other friend,” he added.
“We got lost and ran out of gas,” he said.
In response to a question from the local press on Thursday, Moroccan government spokesman Mustapha Baïtas did not comment, limiting himself to answering that it was “a matter that falls within the jurisdiction of the judiciary.”
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