The Algerian coast guard arrested today three Moroccan jet ski riders seven nautical miles off the beach of Marsa BenM’hidi, located a few kilometers from Saidia.
The Algerian regime’s Ministry of Defense announced the arrestwithout giving further details about the case, claiming that the area where the three Moroccans were arrested is a hotspot for activities related to “drug trafficking and illegal migration networks.”
The arrests came four months after the Algerian coast guard was implicated in the killing of two Moroccan skiers who were lost when their jet skis were driven into Algerian waters due to bad weather.
In August, Algeria’s coast guard killed two Moroccan-French tourists, who were lost in Algerian waters due to the weather.
The two victims were part of a group of four Moroccan friends who decided to go for a jet ski ride after lunch in Saidia marina in Morocco’s Oriental region.
The jet skis, however, were swept away, and the group of Moroccans found themselves lost in Algerian waters.
“We knew we were in Algeria because an Algerian coast guard approached us, maneuvering in a zigzag pattern,” one of the jet ski riders and the brother of one of the victims killed by Algerian coast guard told the media in August.
The victim’s brother also rejected Algeria’s claims that the group attempted to run away when they were discovered by the coast guard.
“On the contrary, I saw my brother talking to them. I don’t know what they were talking about,” he said.
He also stated that his brother was seeking help from the Algerian coast guards, so that the lost jet ski riders could return to Moroccan waters.“When we were heading back, the coast guards opened fire on us. Five bullets were opened against my brother and my friend,” the victim’s brother said.
A disturbing video went viral online in August, documenting the moment when a Moroccan fisherman discovered the lifeless body of the young man off the coast of Saidia.
One of the four Moroccan set skiers was arrested during the August tragedy.
Algeria’s Defense Ministry acknowledged that its coast guard were involved in the killing of the two Moroccan citizens but reiterated the same claims alleging that the victims attempted to flee the scene.
The Algerian regime went on to claim that the three people refused to “comply and fled with jet skis by carrying out dangerous maneuvers.”
Source: Morocco World News
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