Algeria says it fired warnings at jet skiers

Algeria’s defence ministry
said on Sunday its coastguard fired warning shots before firing
directly at a man on a jet ski who entered Algerian waters, in
an incident that a survivor said left two dead.
The incident took place on Tuesday after five men strayed
into Algerian waters on jet skis near the Moroccan coastal
resort of Saidia on Algeria’s border, according to Mohamed
Kissi, who said he survived the shooting.
Algeria’s defence ministry released its version of
events in a statement on Sunday. “After multiple attempts, shots
were fired on a jet ski,” the ministry said. It said another
body hit by gunshots wounds was recovered on Wednesday.
Kissi, speaking in a video published by Morocco’s le360 news
site, said the group of friends had been approached after dark
by an Algerian government vessel.
He said he heard the boat firing on the group and said
his brother Bilal, 29, and another man, Abdelali Mchiouer, 40,
were both shot dead.
Another member of their group, Smail Snabi, was detained
by the Algerian authorities, Kissi said.
The border between Algeria and Morocco has been closed
since 1994 and the two countries have had no diplomatic
relations since Algiers cut ties with Rabat in 2021.
“Given that the maritime border area is witnessing intense
activity by drug smuggling gangs and organized crime, Coast
Guard members fired warning shots,” the Algerian statement
added.
Kissi disputed the Algerian account. “I did not hear any
warning shots. I only heard gun shots directly that killed my
brother Bilal,” he told Reuters on Sunday.
He said Abdelali Mchiouer was also shot dead. Mchiouer’s
father said they are still waiting for his body to be released
to observe a proper burial for him.
Moroccan authorities said they could not comment on the
case, calling it a judicial matter. The Moroccan prosecutor said
it was investigating the “violent incident”.
Mohamed and Bilal Kissi, along with Smail Snabi who is
presumed to have been arrested, each hold dual Moroccan and
French nationality, local media reported.
Morocco’s National Human Rights Council condemned the
killing and urged the release of Snabi whom it said was
sentenced “rapidly” to 18 months in jail.
France’s Foreign Ministry said it had learned of the death
of one of its nationals and the detention of another in Algeria
and was in touch with the families and with authorities in
Morocco and Algeria.
Bilal Kissi’s body was found by Moroccan fishermen and he
was buried near the eastern Moroccan city of Oujda on Wednesday,
his brother said.