The site Closes amplifies hypothetical and orphan source information on incidents near Tindouf. The Moroccan media reports, with a certain confidence, two unattested events of a very delicate nature – one concerning a drone strike in the three-border region, the other relating to the interception and release of Algerian soldiers lost by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
Akram Kharief, founder of the Menadefense site, although known to be close to the first Algerian circles, is categorical: “unconfirmed information.” No echo, no denial, no comment has so far found a place in the columns of Algerian publications, although they are often fond of such stories, especially when these allow them to fuel a hostile discourse towards the Moroccan neighbor. . Why then risk, in Morocco, approximations, without prior verifications or official sources?
The site Closes has reported, several times, without reliable references, a series of events occurring in recent days (here) and (here) in the Saharan region, although this information has not yet been verified by official sources. “We learned”etc.
According to this media (which this time uses a dubious Facebook account without citing it), “a drone strike targeted, Thursday, December 26, a convoy made up of two vehicles transporting around twenty people in the so-called three borders region, located west of Tindouf. This attack reportedly left one dead and five injured, all of Algerian nationality. Yabiladi states that “the victim would be a police lieutenant from the Béchar prefecture.”
The passengers of the convoy, presented as young prospectors, would have gone to this desert area in search of truffles, a very popular commodity in this region. According to a testimony cited by the site, “The two vehicles were traveling in convoy when the strike took place, causing panic and considerable material damage.”
Closes adds, probably to support his story, that the individuals mentioned are “elements of the Polisario.”
Is this a single event or two separate events?
Furthermore, the same media reported, a few hours earlier, another incident which allegedly took place at the beginning of this week. The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR) “would have intercepted [pas arrêté] and released five Algerian soldiers, including an officer, who had gotten lost near the buffer zone in the Sahara.”
If other media indicated the information subject to reservation, specifying that these soldiers, on board an ANPA-type all-terrain vehicle, used for patrols, “are said to have accidentally entered Moroccan territory on Monday, December 23, around 9:50 a.m., near M’hamid El Ghizlane, a region located not far from the dunes of Erg Chegaga. After verifying their identity, the soldiers were authorized to leave around 11:05 a.m. to return to Algerian territory.. These sources also emphasize that “this approach was seen as a gesture of appeasement on the part of the Moroccan authorities, despite the persistent tensions between Rabat and Algiers.”
Closeshe believes he knows that these soldiers “were arrested, including an officer.” An Algerian officer would have been involved each time in these incidents?
These events, reported absolutely and without any credible attribution by Closeshave not been officially confirmed, either by the Moroccan authorities or by the Algerian authorities.
Be careful, therefore.
