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Rabat – Algeria has decided to issue a press release acknowledging its coast guard’s involvement in the killing of two French-Moroccan Tourists who were lost in its waters last week.
On Sunday evening, the Algerian Ministry of Defense released a statement admitting that coast guards had opened fire on Tuesday last week against French Moroccan tourists.
The act resulted in the death of two of the tourists, while another one was arrested. One remaining tourist was able to flee.
The assassination of the tourists took place after the victims’ jet skis mistakenly drifted to Algerian waters due to bad weather.
The victims were on vacation in Saidia, a city in the Oriental region.
One of the victims survived Algerian bullets after swimming back to Moroccan waters. He was then rescued by Moroccan maritime services.
In a first reaction since the crime, the Algerian regime reiterated the same claims published by its affiliated media — alleging that the victims attempted to flee the scene.
“A patrol from a Coast Guard security and control unit at the level of territorial waters relating to the western maritime facade/2nd RM , intercepted, on the evening of Tuesday, August 29 2023 at 7:47 p.m. three jet-skis having illegally crossed our territorial waters,” the statement said, claiming that its maritime services launched an “audible warning and ordered the jet skiers to stop several times.”
The Algerian regime went on to claim that the three people refused to “comply and fled with jet skis by carrying out dangerous maneuvers.”
Claiming to have fired warning shots, the Algerian Ministry alleged that its coast services shot one of the jet skiers to make him stop “while the two others fled “
The claims were already rejected and denied by Mohammed Kessi, one of the tourists who survived the massacre.
Mohammed Kessi, the brother of Bilal Kessi, who was murdered by Algerian coast guards, confirmed that Algerian authorities opened fire on him, his brother, and their friends were while enjoying a jet ski ride after lunch.
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Mohammed denied the Algerian regime’s claims, saying that an Algerian patrol approached the victim while maneuvering in a zigzag pattern.
The victim said that they were lost as their jet skis were running out of fuel and were trying to go back to Moroccan waters as the weather caused their jet skis to lose direction.
“We knew we were in Algeria because an Algerian coast guard approached us, maneuvering in a zigzag pattern,” the victim’s brother said, strongly rejecting claims that the victims had attempted to run away when they were discovered by the Algerian security services.
“On the contrary, I saw my brother talking to them. I don’t know what they were talking about,” he said.
Mohammed Kessi also suggested that his brother was engaging with the Algerian guards in an attempt to seek help about how they could return to Moroccan waters.
“I saw my brother showing me the way with his hands. When we were heading back, the coast guards opened fire on us. Five bullets were opened against my brother and my friend,” Mohammed said.
“I was sitting next to my jet ski. Thank God, I wasn’t injured,” the brother explained, noting that he tried to reach out to his brother and his friend but no one responded.
Despite recognizing its direct responsibility in the death of the Moroccan jet-skiers, the Algerian Ministry of Defense called on “social network users not to pay attention to false information which circulate and aim to harm the honorable image of the National People’s Army.”
The murder of the French Moroccan tourists sparked outrage and frustration nationwide, with citizens calling on Moroccan authorities to take the case to international courts.
The plight was particularly echoed after a disturbing video documented the moment when a fisherman discovered the body of one of the victims.
The body of the victim was floating in Moroccan waters as the deceased was wearing a lifejacket during the murder.
Morocco launched an investigation into the crime last week..
The Oujda prosecutor’s office announced a judicial investigation into the incident after receiving a complaint from a person who alleges to have been a victim, alongside four other young individuals, of a violent encounter during a leisurely outing on the water.
