Moroccan media reports that two French-Moroccan men were shot and killed after they accidentally crossed the maritime border between Morocco and Algeria on water scooters.
The incident took place on Tuesday after five men lost their bearings while exploring the sea on jet skis. One of France’s citizens had been killed, the country said on Friday.
The foreign ministry in Paris announced the death without elaborating on the circumstances and stated that another one of its citizens was imprisoned in “an incident involving several of our nationals”.
According to Mohamed Kissi, he, his brother Bilal, and two friends were on vacation while jet skiing off the coast of the Moroccan town of Saidia when the sun started to set.
“We were low on gas for the water scooters and were drifting. In the darkness we found ourselves in Algerian waters,” Kissi was quoted as saying.
A speedboat carrying naval forces and bearing the word “Algeria” on its side approached the group.
Kissi claimed that after a brief exchange, Algerian forces opened fire on the group, killing their friend Abdelali Mechouer and his brother Bilal. The Algerian military imprisoned their other friend, Smail Snabe who was wounded.
According to the French-Moroccan, he swam to safety until Moroccan maritime police could rescue him.
The French foreign ministry said its “crisis support center and our embassies in Morocco and Algeria are in close contact with our fellow citizens’ families, to whom we are offering every support”.
Source-Aljazeera
