Morocco is investigating the death of a French-Moroccan after he and another Moroccan tourist on jet skis were shot by Algerian coastguards.
There has been no official comment from either Algiers or Rabat about Tuesday's incident, at a time of increased tensions between the two North African countries.
The public prosecutor's office in Oujda bordering Algeria ordered an investigation on Wednesday after “statements by a person saying they were the victim”, along with others, “of a violent incident at sea”, a judicial source told the official Map news agency on Friday.
It cited the source as saying five tourists were involved who “may have got lost at sea during an outing”.
The websites Al Omk and Goud.ma reported earlier that an investigation had begun into the death of one man, Bilal Kissi, “after the discovery of his body on the beach at Saidia”, about three kilometres from the border with Algeria.
Saidia is a summer seaside resort known for its long beach and water sports.
Kissi lived in France and had left Saidia with his older brother Mohamed, their Moroccan cousin Abdelali Mechouar and their friend Smail Snabe, also said to be French-Moroccan, on jet skis on Tuesday.
The website Le360 gave Bilal Kissi's age as 29 and his brother's as 33, and said Mechouar was a 40-year-old who had moved to France aged 10.
“We got lost but we kept going until we found ourselves in Algeria,” Mohamed Kissi was quoted as saying by Al Omk on Thursday.
“We knew we were in Algeria because a black Algerian dinghy came towards us” and those on board “fired at us”.
After the shooting, Mohamed Kissi was able to get back to Morocco and report what had happened.
He told authorities after being picked up by the navy that the jet skiers had become lost and run out of fuel.
Mechouar's body is still in Algeria, Moroccan media reported on Friday, adding that Snabe had been wounded and was being detained by the authorities there.
Bilal Kissi was buried on Thursday in Bni Drar village near Oujda, in the presence of dozens of relatives.
“We buried a brother and want Abdelali's body back. He's our cousin,” a video released by Al Omk showed a cousin of Bilal Kissi saying at his funeral.
“We want to give him a dignified burial so his mother can have closure,” added the cousin, whose name was not given.
“These young people weren't involved in drugs and they hadn't stolen anything. They are of good standing and were only here on a family holiday” from France where they worked, the cousin said.
“One (of those who died) left two children, the other a daughter.”
Le360 reported that Bilal Kissi had two children, a two-year-old and a six-month-old, and Mechouar was the father of a five-year-old.
In Paris, the Foreign Ministry reported only one death without providing the circumstances, saying another of its citizens had been jailed in “an incident involving several of our nationals”.
It did not release the identity of the person it said had been killed.
France said its “crisis support centre and our embassies in Morocco and Algeria are in close contact with our fellow citizens' families, to whom we are offering every support”.
Tuesday's deadly shooting comes at a time of increased tensions between Morocco and Algeria, exacerbated by their antagonism over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
The border between the two countries has been closed since 1994, and Algeria broke off diplomatic ties in August 2021, accusing Morocco of “hostile acts” – a decision Rabat called “completely unjustified”.
In July, Morocco's King Mohammed VI said he hoped for a return to normality and reopening of borders with Algeria.
However, Israel's recognition of “Morocco's sovereignty” over the Western Sahara added to tensions with Algeria, which called the Israeli move a “flagrant violation of international law”.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Makerah, Adrie de Vries, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Hazeme, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap | Dh85,000 | 2,200m
Winner: AF Yatroq, Brett Doyle, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Shadwell Farm for Private Owners Handicap | Dh70,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Nawwaf KB, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Treasured Times, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
