Two vacationers were killed on Tuesday by Algerian coastguards when they got lost on jet skis in an Algerian maritime area on the border with Morocco. A third man, who would also be Franco-Moroccan, Smaïl Snabé, was arrested by the Algerian coast guard. What are the different versions of this drama? Why is the diplomatic context important? 20 minutes takes stock for you.
What is the vacationers version?
According to Moroccan media and the families’ lawyers, Bilal Kissi, a Franco-Moroccan holidaymaker and his cousin Abdelali Mechouar, holder of a regular residence permit in France, were killed by the Algerian coast guard, after getting lost .
They had left the seaside resort of Saidia (north-west), on the border with Algeria, on board jet skis, according to the testimony of the older brother of Bilal Kissi, Mohamed who was able to return to the beach. Another member of the group, Smaïl Snabé, also Franco-Moroccan, was injured, according to Mohamed Kissi quoted by the media, and is detained in Algeria.
“We see the Algerian zodiac of the Algerian gendarmerie. We see them coming, they rush into us, ”recalls Mohammed Kissi on BFM TV. His brother waving his hand at him to tell him to go home, he turns around. “It started to burst behind us. I was not hit but I broke down, ”explains the one who was then recovered by the Moroccan navy. “They killed my brother and my friend,” he concludes.
What is the Algiers version?
Algeria disputed this version of the facts, assuring that the holidays had “refused to comply”. “During a security and control patrol in our territorial waters, a coast guard unit intercepted, on Tuesday at 7:47 p.m. (8:47 p.m. French time), three jet-skis having clandestinely crossed our territorial waters”, a the Algerian ministry said in a statement.
“After issuing an audible warning and summoning them to stop several times, the defendants refused to comply and fled by performing dangerous maneuvers”, according to the same source. After several “warning shots”, “shots were fired forcing one of the jet skis to stop, while the other two fled”, added the ministry.
The ministry explained these shootings by “increased activity of drug trafficking gangs and organized crime” in this border area, and because of “the obstinacy of the passengers of the jet skis”. The ministry asked in its official statement not to pay attention to the false information which circulates aiming at harming the honorable image of the Algerian Army.
How did Paris react to this tragedy?
France has confirmed the death of a Frenchman of Moroccan origin and “the incarceration of another compatriot in Algeria in an incident involving several of our nationals”. “The crisis and support center of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and our embassies in Morocco and Algeria are in close contact with the families of our fellow citizens, to whom we give all our support”, specifies a press release. “We are in contact with the Moroccan and Algerian authorities. The prosecution has been notified,” a spokeswoman for the ministry also said. Contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond.
What is the diplomatic context?
This tragedy occurs in a context of tensions between Algeria and Morocco, exacerbated by their antagonism over Western Sahara, considered a “non-self-governing territory” by the UN in the absence of a definitive settlement. The separatists of the Polisario demand a self-determination referendum planned by the UN in 1991 but never organized. Morocco, which controls nearly 80% of the territory, is proposing an autonomy plan under its sovereignty.
The borders between Morocco and Algeria have been closed since 1994 and Algiers severed diplomatic ties with Rabat in August 2021, accusing it of “hostile acts”, a “completely unjustified” decision, according to Morocco. 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. This drama is likely to rekindle the sharp regional frictions between Algeria and Morocco.
What legal consequences can we expect?
A complaint will be filed “Monday or Tuesday” for “aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, hijacking of a ship and failure to assist a person in danger”, said Sunday Me Hakim Chergui, one of the lawyers for the family of the victims. . “The severance of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Algerian Republic, at the initiative of the latter, cannot justify the commission of the slightest crime and even less, the impunity of its perpetrators”, write in a press release Me Chergui and Me Ghizlane Mouhtaram who defends the family in Morocco.
“This is the reason why, constrained by the silence of the Algerian authorities, on whose territory the assassinations took place, they have no choice but to resort to French justice so that all the light is shed. on this drama of indescribable cruelty”, add the two lawyers. In addition, the prosecution of Oujda, a city in northeastern Morocco bordering Algeria, on Wednesday ordered the opening of an investigation to determine the circumstances “of a violent incident at sea”, according to a judicial source at the Moroccan agency MAP.