Dozens of Moroccans gathered Monday outside the parliament in Rabat, denouncing the Algerian coastguard’s killing of two men with dual French-Moroccan nationality and brandishing banners that demand accountability for the crime.
The protesters called on the UN to denounce the Algerian regime.
The Moroccan League for Citizenship and Human Rights (LMCDH) had called for the protest over what it said was an international crime and a violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons.
It further denounced the aggressive Algerian military regime that incites hatred and escalation against Morocco.
Lawyers for the two men shot dead in the incident plan to file a complaint in France against Algeria.
Hakim Chergui, who is acting for the families of the victims, said the legal action would be submitted on Monday or Tuesday.
They are accusing the Algerian authorities of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, the hijacking of a vessel, and failure to assist a person in danger.
Tense diplomatic relations between Morocco and Algeria does not justify the crime, said a statement from the lawyer.
On Sunday, Morocco’s National Council for Human Rights strongly condemned the Algerian Coast Guard’s use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians, decrying the incident as a “severe violation of international standards and human rights laws.”
The council also noted that what the victims have suffered is considered a serious violation of human rights and an abusive deprivation of the right to life.
It considered that the act committed by the Algerian Coast Guard constitutes a serious violation of international norms relating to the protection of life and safety of persons at sea, in particular the articles of the International Convention for the Protection of Life at Sea, adopted on November 1, 1974, and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, adopted on 27 April 1979, as amended in 2004, in particular Articles 1, 2 and 3 of this Convention, as well as its express violation of Article 98 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted on 10 December 1982.
The Algerian Defense Ministry said in a statement late Sunday that coast guard units had intercepted three jet skis that had clandestinely entered Algerian waters.
“Coast guard personnel fired warning shots. After several attempts, shots were fired, forcing one of the jet skis to stop, while the other two fled,” the statement said.
