Three French-Moroccan tourists and a Moroccan were riding jet skis off Saidia when they started to run out of fuel. As the sun set, the four ended up disoriented and entered Algerian waters. A semi-rigid ship belonging to the Algerian Coast Guard approached, and after a short exchange of words, gunfire rang out. Two tourists died and the Algerian authorities arrested the third. The fourth man managed to escape and was found by a Moroccan patrol. He told the media what happened.
There has been no official comment yet on Tuesday’s incident by Morocco or Algeria, two countries that have not had diplomatic relations since 2021, but have turned their backs for many more years over the Western Sahara situation. Rabat claims sovereignty over the territory, and Algeria is the main ally of the Sahrawis. The borders between the two neighbors have been closed since 1994. In July, Moroccan King Mohammed VI expressed his openness to reopening the borders and resuming relations. But Israel’s recognition of “Morocco’s sovereignty” over Western Sahara was a new blow, as Algeria denounced the “flagrant violation of international law.”
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