Two men were killed and one detained after crossing Algeria’s maritime border (Picture: AFP)
A Moroccan man has described the terrifying moment his brother and friend were shot dead by the Algerian coast guard after accidentally crossing into the country’s waters.
Mohammed Kissi was one of four tourists, reported to be French-Moroccan dual nationals, who had been riding jet skis when they strayed across the maritime border.
Two of the men – including Mr Kissi’s brother – were shot dead, while a third man was wounded and arrested by the officials.
Mr Kissi said the group had found themselves lost and low on gas at nightfall after setting off from the Moroccan town of Saaidia.
They realised they had drifted into Algerian territory when they were approached by boats with ‘Algeria’ written on the side, he told Moroccan news site 360.ma.
His brother Bilal signalled for the men to turn back but the Algerian officials opened fire, killing him and friend Abdelali Mechouer, and wounding another friend Smail Snabe.
‘They charged, then began to shoot behind us,’ he told French TV network BFM.
Hundreds of people attended Bilal Kissi’s funeral (Picture: AP)
Mr Kissi said he was able to escape by jumping into the water and swimming back to Saadia where he was eventually picked up by the Moroccan Navy.
He previously denied the group had tried to escape when they were discovered, telling local media his brother had tried to talk to the Algerian coast guard before he was shot dead.
Mr Snabe has reportedly since appeared in an Algerian court.
There was no immediate response from Algeria while Morocco said it had opened an investigation into a ‘violent sea incident’.
Three of the four tourists were shot, with two of them killed and one wounded (Picture: AFP)
France has been notified of the shooting and its foreign ministry said the its embassies in Morocco and Algeria were in ‘close contact’ with families of its citizens.
The brothers’ cousin, actor Abdelkarim Kissi, has urged Moroccan authorities to take the case to the international courts.
Writing on social media he said: ‘They killed Bilal Kissi my little cousin.
‘His only fault was crossing the Algerian territorial waters, he was on vacation with his friends.’
There has been a long history of tension between Morocco and Algeria, dating back ton the era of French colonisation, and the border between the nations has been closed since 1994 after Islamist militants bombed a hotel in Marrakesh.
Diplomatic relations ended when Algiers cut ties with Rabat in 2021, accusing it of ‘hostile actions’.
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