Updated 01:26 | Published at 01:14
The families of two tourists on jet skis who were shot dead by the Algerian coast guard last week are accusing the country’s authorities of murder.
Algeria says its security forces opened fire on the group after it refused to obey orders to stop.
“After issuing an audible warning and ordering them to stop several times, the suspects refused to obey and fled,” the Algerian Ministry of Defense said in a press release.
It was on Tuesday that two vacationing men riding jet skis in Morocco were shot dead by the Algerian coast guard after they crossed over on the wrong side of the border.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the shots were fired due to “increased activity by drug-trafficking gangs and organized crime” in the border area, and due to “the persistence of those on the jet skis”.
The incident takes place against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Algeria and Morocco, exacerbated by the countries’ disagreements over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
The families of the two men will take legal action in France, the families’ lawyers announced. One of the men killed had French-Moroccan citizenship.
The Algerian authorities are accused, among other things, of murder.