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Rabat – Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has turned a deaf ear to Morocco’s help offer amid a surge in wildfires across the Kabyle region.
In a speech on Thursday, Tebboune said that his government has requested European countries to provide firefighter aircrafts to aid in the wildfires erupting in the region.
He stated that the European countries were unable to answer his plea for help and provide assistance due to the firefighter fleets having already been deployed to Turkey and Greece.
Turkey and Greece have been ravaged by forest fires over the past week.
Several European countries, including France and Spain, have started deploying their firefighting aircraft after finishing their aid missions in other countries.
Tebboune asserted that some of the fires in Algeria were due to rising temperatures, while others were ignited by “criminal hands.”
Tebboune’s plea for European aid comes as Morocco continues to wait for the Algerian government to greenlight its aid offer.
On Wednesday, the Moroccan Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a communique to announce Morocco’s readiness to offer help to Algeria amid a surge of wildfires.
The ministry said that King Mohammed VI ordered the foreign and interior ministries to assist Algeria.
The ministry added that two Canadair CL-415 aircraft would be deployed to support the operation if the Algerian government accepts Morocco’s aid offer. On Thursday evening, August 12, King Mohammed VI expressed sympathy and condolences to Tebboune, emphasizing Morocco’s solidarity with its North African neighbor.
Tebboune appeared on national television a few hours after King Mohammed VI’s condolence letter was published online, and complained about the lack of European firefighter aircrafts, while vowing to apprehend the perpetrators deemed responsible for starting the fire.
Some internet users heavily criticized the Algerian regime for turning a deaf ear to Morocco’s offer of aid.
Others suggested that Algeria has accepted France’s aid offer, while rejecting help from a neighboring country.
The criticism came after French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a tweet that his country will send two Canadair planes to help in the firefighting campaign in the Kabyle region.
“To the Algerian people, I want to express our full support. As of tomorrow, two Canadairs and a command plane will be deployed in Kabylia, which is in the grip of violent fires,” Macron stated.
This is not the first time Algeria turns a deaf ear to Morocco’s propositions. It has been just a few weeks since King Mohammed VI renewed Morocco’s readiness to engage in a dialogue and extend an olive branch to its “twin” with the aim of breaking the diplomatic stalemate between the two countries.
The King also called for the reopening of borders to ensure unity between the people of the Maghreb region.
Algerian President Tebboune appeared in a press meeting with journalists to say that he does not have a response to the King’s offer.
Amid Morocco’s support and dialogue initiative, Algeria’s powerful Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha attacked Morocco’s territorial integrity in a meeting with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the Organization of the United Nations in Mali.
In the meeting, Chengriha said that his country cannot discuss regional situations without addressing the Western Sahara conflict and accused Morocco of violating the 1991 ceasefire agreement.
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