Two tourists on jet-skis have been shot dead by coastguard staff after straying into foreign waters.
The Algerian coastguard reportedly opened fire at two holidaymakers from Morocco as the pair crossed over following a wrong turn on Tuesday.
Bilal Kissi and Abdelali Merchouer, both French-Moroccan dual nationals, came under fire after a quartet veered into Algerian waters off Saidia.
Saidia is a beach resort in north-east Morocco which is located just a stone’s throw from the Algerian border.
Another stock image of a person riding a jet ski
PA
A third man, named Smail Snabe, was arrested by the Algerian coastguard.
Smail appeared before a prosecutor on Wednesday, Morocco’s Francophone newspaper Le360 has revealed.
Mohamed Kissi, the brother of Bilal, told the Moroccan website Al Omk: “We got lost, but we kept going until we found ourselves in Algeria ... a black Algerian dinghy came towards us.”
He added: “Thank God I wasn’t hit, but they killed my brother and my friend.
“They arrested my other friend. Five bullets hit my brother and my friend.
“My other friend was hit by a bullet. We got lost and we were out of fuel.”
Mohammad was escorted back to safety after being picked up by the Moroccan navy.
The reported shooting sparked outrage in Morocco after a local fisherman shared a video of a body floating in water.
Mustapha Baitas, a spokesman in Rabat, declined to comment, saying only that it was “a matter for the judiciary”.
There was also no immediate comment from officials in Algiers.
Algerian-Moroccan relations have been incredibly tense since both nations gained independence from France.
Relations have been particularly fraught as the two north African nations dispute the territory of Western Sahara.
People stand near a border post on the Algerian side of the Morocco-Algeria border
REUTERS
Algeria and Morocco share a 1,242-mile long border which closed in 1994 after Islamist militants bombed a hotel in Marrakesh.
Diplomatic ties between Algiers and Rabat took yet another blow in 2021 after Morocco was accused of “hostile acts”.
Rabat rejected Algiers’ suggestion and labelled it “completely unjustified”.