He was shot while greeting supporters after a government meeting
Two holidaymakers jet skiing in Morocco were shot dead in Algerian waters when they strayed across the maritime border between two Mediterranean countries, local media reported on Thursday.
Bilal Kissi and Abdelali Merchouer, both French-Moroccan dual nationals, came under fire after taking a wrong turn off the beach resort of Saidia on Morocco's northeast tip, the Le360 news website said, citing a witness.
A third man, Smail Snabe, also French-Moroccan, was arrested by the Algerian coast guard and appeared before a prosecutor on Wednesday, Le360 reported.
There were four men in the group on Tuesday, all riding jet skis.
"We got lost but we kept going until we found ourselves in Algeria," Mohamed Kissi, the brother of the young man who died, was quoted as saying by the Moroccan website Al Omk.
"We knew we were in Algeria because a black Algerian dinghy came towards us" and those on board "fired at us", he said.
"Thank God I wasn't hit, but they killed my brother and my friend. They arrested my other friend," he added.
"Five bullets hit my brother and my friend. My other friend was hit by a bullet," Kissi was quoted as saying.
"We got lost and we were out of fuel," he said, adding that he was picked up by the Moroccan navy who took him back to the Saidia marina.
The incident comes against a backdrop of increased tensions between Algeria and Morocco exacerbated by their antagonism over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
The border between the North African nations has been closed since 1994, and Algiers severed ties with Rabat in 2021 after accusing its neighbour of "hostile acts", an accusation Morocco called "completely unjustified".
When asked about the reported shooting of the jet skiers on Thursday, Moroccan government spokesman Mustapha Baitas declined to comment, saying only that it was "a matter for the judiciary".
There was no immediate comment from the Algerian side.
ALSO READ:
He was shot while greeting supporters after a government meeting
People were fleeing to areas without water supplies or adequate sanitation
No suspects were immediately identified
The accused were carrying 1349 grams of gold
Globally, wildlife crime penalties span from a few days to life in prison, while fines can range from a few US dollars to three million
Israel has conducted renewed military sweeps this month of parts of northern Gaza where it had declared the end of major operations in January
Netanyahu came under personal attack from Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for failing to rule out an Israeli government in Gaza after the war
Fico has been in hospital since Wednesday when a lone gunman shot him four times, including in the abdomen