Algeria claims three Algerians were killed in a Moroccan airstrike near the Western Sahara border.
Algeria alleged on Wednesday that Moroccan airstrikes in the border area between Mauritania and the disputed province of Western Sahara killed three of its citizens and that the attack would “not go unpunished.”
After months of deteriorating relations over the Western Sahara issue, Monday’s incident highlights the dangers of escalation between the two major North African foes.
The presidency claimed, “Several factors point to Moroccan occupation forces in Western Sahara being complicit in the cowardly assassination”. The three were aboard a truck traveling to Mauritania for trade, according to the report.
Morocco made no immediate comment. Mauritania confirmed there had been no bombardment on its country after photographs of a burnt-out truck surfaced on social media on Tuesday.
Algeria is the home and main supporter of the Polisario Front, which seeks independence for Western Sahara from Morocco, which controls the vast bulk of the territory and regards it as its own.
Last year, the Polisario declared the collapse of a three-decade cease-fire with Morocco following an incident near the border crossing between Western Sahara and Mauritania.
Despite reports of attacks on Moroccan targets in the Polisario and Algerian media, Rabat maintains that the 1990 ceasefire is still in effect and that military action is only taken in response to attacks.
Algeria severed ties with Morocco last year, accusing it of failing to meet its duties in Western Sahara and of supporting a regional independence movement within the country. It has also stopped supplying gas and closed its airspace to Moroccan planes.
Morocco has dismissed the claims as false and ludicrous, claiming that Algeria’s decision to cut ties was unwarranted and that Algeria is the principal player in the Western Sahara dispute.