Algeria Summons Morocco Envoy On Alleged Border Shooting

Algeria on Sunday summoned the Moroccan chargé d'affaires, a short time after Rabat had accused the Algerian army of shooting on Moroccan civilians on the two countries' shared border.



The Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had summoned the Moroccan diplomat, noting that the Moroccan ambassador in Algiers was not available at the embassy.



"The summoning of the Moroccan chargé d'affaires comes after senior Moroccan officials had accused the Algerian army of shooting on Moroccan civilians," the ministry said in the statement.



It said the secretary-general of the Algerian Foreign Ministry had discussed the accusations with the Moroccan diplomat.



"He [the Foreign Ministry secretary-general] notified the Moroccan diplomat about Algeria's anger at repeated Moroccan accusations," the Foreign Ministry said, adding that these accusations were unbecoming to relations between the two sister countries.



Tensions flared between Algeria and Morocco on Saturday after Morocco accused its eastern neighbor of shooting on ten Moroccan civilians on its shared border with Algeria, seriously wounding one of them.



Morocco on Saturday summoned Algeria's ambassador in Rabat to protest against the alleged shooting and demand clarifications on the event.



Algeria said one of its border patrols was pelted with stones by a group of Moroccan smugglers, which prompted what it called a "professional" response from patrol troops.



It added that Algerian troops fired two live rounds in the air only, ruling out the possibility that the rounds might have wounded anybody on the other side of the border.  



By Abderrazek Ben Abdullah



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Alger