Rabat – The Moroccan Sports Press Union has condemned Algeria’s decision to prevent a Moroccan media delegation from entering its territory to cover the Mediterranean Games.
The union announced its astonishment in a communique on Thursday, after Algerian authorities refused entry to the Moroccan press delegation accompanying the country’s athletes participating in the games from July 25-26.
“This position, which is against international media conventions and which hinders the right of journalists to practice their professional duty, requires an urgent action from all international and continental institutions to protect the Moroccan delegation,” the union said.
The statement emphasized that Moroccan journalists remain blocked at the international airport of Oran.
The union added that the Moroccan journalists were forced to spend the night in the airport in “extremely deplorable conditions” despite intervention from members of the Consulate General of Morocco in Oran.
Several reports said Algerian authorities refused the delegation’s entry due to the journalist’s alleged lack of the credentials necessary to cover the event.
Although granted entry, Moroccan athletes had to travel through Tunisia to reach Algeria due to the closure of airspace between Morocco and Algeria.
Algeria chose to close its borders with Morocco in September, 2021. The decision came a month after it cut all diplomatic ties with Morocco, accusing Rabat of hostile actions that undermine Algerian security.
Algeria had additionally blamed a Moroccan-Israeli conspiracy for the fierce wildfires that broke out last summer due to the heat and rising temperatures.
Although Morocco offered to send firefighter jets, the Algerian government claimed that the North African country was involved in the wildfires.
Morocco rejected the accusations and criticized Algeria’s decision to cut relations.
Despite the accusations, Morocco emphasized that it will always remain an ally of the Algerian people.
