Rabat – Mohamed Ould Moine, Mauritania’s former Minister of Communication has debunked unproven Algerian claims that Morocco attacked and killed three Algerian nationals while on their way to Mauritania.
Earlier this week, the Algerian Presidency accused Morocco of bombarding three Algerians traveling between Nouakchott and Nouarggla, a city in southern Algeria.
The Algerian regime claimed Morocco “bombarded” the Algerians.
Numerous reports from the Algerian press claim the attacks took place near Bir Lahlou, a buffer zone in Western Sahara.
In response to the accusations by Algeria’s regime, the former communications minister said that the road between Nouakchott and Nouargla does not pass through Western Sahara.
He added that the Sahara is a disputed area.“Any carrier of commerce will not deviate from the official road to risk his life and storm into a bloody area,” he said.
Casting doubt on Algeria’s narrative, the Mauritanian politician said that there is no complaint from Mauritania about the “burned” trucks .
“Who is that Mauritanian merchant whose goods were burnt?” he asked.
The former Mauritanian communication minister went on to add that there is no customs document from Mauritania that proves the transit of truck drivers carrying goods for Mauritania.
“I find the Algerian narrative unconvincing…!” Mohamed Moine concluded.
The remarks from the former Mauritanian official comes on the heels of an official press release from Mauritania’s national army, which denied that Algerian nationals were killed by the Moroccan military on Mauritanian soil.
The Mauritanian army also slammed news outlets for sharing fake news on the incident, warning them against spreading disinformation.
Algeria’s regime continues to vow punishment against Morocco.
Meanwhile a number of observers and Morocco-Algeria watchers have pointed out that the statements made by Algeria and Polisario don’t add up. One of them is Hicham Aboud, Algerian journalist, who now lives in exile. In a video posted on Youtube Thursday, Aboud said Algeria claims the incident happened between Algeria and the area located east of Moroccan defense wall in Western Sahara.
Meanwhile, Polisario claims that the alleged attack occurred in Ain Bentili on Mauritanian soil. The Algerian journalist noted that flagrant discrepancies between Algeria’s and Polisario’ statement and Mauritania statement cast on the credibility on the Algerian narrative.
Far Maroc Forum, a Facebook page specialized in Moroccan military affairs, quoted sources as saying that personnel of MINURSO, the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara are investigating the death of the three Algerian truck drivers.
Meanwhile, the UN has called on Morocco and Algeria to initiate a dialogue with the aim of reducing tension.
The UN emphasized that its new personal envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura will work on ways to see how he can help improve the situation.
