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Rabat – Algeria’s regime has once again sparked backlash and frustration with a new provocative act, killing two Moroccan citizens near the border.
The Algerian Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday that it killed two Moroccan “drug traffickers” on Friday night in Beni Ounif in Bechar.
The Algerian regime hastily accused Morocco of “waging a fierce drug war” against Algiers.
The ministry claimed the two Moroccan nationals were “attempting to clandestinely bring into national territory a quantity of processed kif estimated at 49 kg.”
The announcement came a month after the Algerian army also killed three Moroccan drug traffickers in the Bechar province, with Algiers claiming they attempted to bring processed kif into Algeria.
The Algerian regime claimed the operations are part of the “fight against the fierce drug war waged by the Makhzen,” accusing Morocco of repeated and desperate attempts to introduce large quantities of drugs using “various means and methods.”
Many Algerian officials have been sharing baseless claims against Morocco as part of Algiers’ hostile campaign targeting Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Former Algerian foreign minister Abdelkader Messahel once accused Morocco of laundering drug money in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Moroccan banks are being used in laundering the revenues from the sales of hashish [cannabis resin]. Everybody knows that,” the former foreign minister claimed.
The renewed accusations add yet another piece of evidence that Algeria’s regime has no intention of restoring ties with Morocco.
Algeria decided to cut ties with Morocco in 2021, blaming Rabat for the wildfires triggered by high temperatures during the summer in the Kabylie region. In addition to land borders closed since 1994, Algeria’s regime also shut down its airspace with Morocco.
Regretting Algiers’ decision, Morocco rejected the accusations, describing them as “unfounded fallacies.”
Algeria and Morocco have recently engaged in talks as part of the UN-led political process on Western Sahara. The talks are part of US-facilitated discussions and efforts to find an agreed upon and mutually acceptable political solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
The talks brought together representatives of all parties to the dispute, including Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, and Polisario.
The goal is to end the dispute and implement Resolution 2797, adopted last year, endorsing Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the genuine and most feasible political solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
