Algeria: Morocco bombing convoys on its border with Mauritania

Algeria yesterday condemned what it called Morocco’s “targeted killings with sophisticated weaponry, outside of its internationally recognised borders” which led to killing of innocent civilians from three countries in the region, near its border with Mauritania.

The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused, Morocco of repeatedly practicing “state terrorism” as well as “extrajudicial executions”,

“The continuing attacks on civilians through premeditated killings constitute a serious and systematic violation of international humanitarian law that must be strongly condemned and firmly deterred” it added.

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The ministry warned that the repeated and serious violations of security in the occupied Western Saharan territories and their immediate vicinity, undermine the mission of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.

Two days ago, local media outlets reported that the Moroccan Air Force had carried out eight air strikes against a gathering of trucks and merchants, including Algerians, in northern Mauritania, which resulted in casualties.

Last November, the Algerian presidency accused Moroccan forces of assassinating three Algerian truck drivers by bombing their trucks with advanced weapons, while they were traveling on the road linking the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, and the city of Ouargla in southern Algeria, stressing that “their assassination will not go unpunished”.