A Moroccan man has described how Algerian coastguard forces drew level with him and a group of holidaymakers who had accidentally strayed into the nation’s waters on jetskis before opening fire.
Mohamed Kissi said the incident took place at sunset on Tuesday when the four men travelling on two jetskis got lost after taking a wrong turn off the beach resort of Saïdia on Morocco’s north-east tip. The group was almost out of fuel when they unknowingly crossed the border into Algeria.
Mohamed’s brother, Bilal Kissi, a French national, was shot dead. He was buried in Morocco on Thursday. The body of Moroccan citizen Abdelali Mechouer has still not been found.
The fourth holidaymaker, Smail Snabe, a French-Moroccan citizen, is being held in prison in Algeria according to the French ministry of foreign affairs, accused of entering the country illegally.
“We saw the Algerian gendarmerie zodiac approach. They came at us. They drew level with us but we couldn’t hear much because of the noise of the sea, but he (Bilal) just signalled to me that we should turn back. He just signalled with his hand and then they began shooting,” Mohamed told the French network BFMTV.
“I wasn’t hit, but as soon as they started shooting behind us, the jetski broke down.”
For years relations between Algeria and Morocco have been strained. The border between the neighbouring nations was closed in 1994, after the murder of two Spanish tourists. In 2021, against the backdrop of a long-running dispute over the territory of Western Sahara, Algiers severed ties with Rabat after accusing its neighbour of “hostile acts”, an accusation Morocco called “completely unjustified”.
“The crisis and support centre of the ministry and our ambassadors in Morocco and Algeria are in direct contact with the families of our citizens to whom we offer all our support. We have sent them our condolences,” the ministry said, adding that the Paris prosecutor’s office had been “advised” of the situation.
Morocco has opened an investigation into the incident, local media reported.
