UN: 3 Algerian Trucks Suffered Extensive Charring in Buffer Zone

A vehicle of the royal Moroccan armed forces is seen on the Moroccan side of border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, on November 25, 2020. (Getty Images)
A vehicle of the royal Moroccan armed forces is seen on the Moroccan side of border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, on November 25, 2020. (Getty Images)
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UN: 3 Algerian Trucks Suffered Extensive Charring in Buffer Zone

A vehicle of the royal Moroccan armed forces is seen on the Moroccan side of border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, on November 25, 2020. (Getty Images)
A vehicle of the royal Moroccan armed forces is seen on the Moroccan side of border crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania in Guerguerat located in the Western Sahara, on November 25, 2020. (Getty Images)

Deputy Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, Farhan Haq said on Friday that the three Algerian trucks that Algiers claimed were attacked by Morocco were found in the eastern part of Western Sahara near Bir Lahlou, which is a buffer zone in the disputed area.

The area is military zone overseen by the UN mission, MINURSO. The trucks were running between Mauritania and Algeria.

“MINURSO did look into this. We learned of the incident on November 2. MINURSO then was able to send initial patrol to the site of the alleged incident on November 3,” Haq told a press briefing.

“We can now confirm that the site is in the eastern part of Western Sahara near Bir Lahlou. The Mission observed two trucks with Algerian license plates parked parallel to each other. Both trucks had suffered extensive damage and charring.”

Asked by a reporter why the vehicles were located in the military operation area, knowing there already is an existing border checkpoint between Mauritania and Algerian, he replied: “I have no explanation for why the trucks are where they are. This is a matter that's being looked into.”

Bir Lahlou is considered Moroccan territory but it has been placed under UN supervision to act as a buffer zone east of the security wall constructed by Rabat to ward off attacks by the separatist Polisario Front.

The Algerian presidency had accused Morocco of attacking the commercial trucks, which it said were traveling from Algeria to Mauritania. It vowed that the crime will not go unpunished.

Morocco dismissed the incident as fabricated, saying the trucks were carrying weapons to the Polisario Front and that they were destroyed in a minefield.

Since the incident, Algerian media has been waging a fierce campaign against Morocco, threatening war.

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra has written to UN chief Antonio Guterres and head of the African Union over the incident. Guterres, for his part, has urged calm and dialogue from Morocco and Algeria.



Four Dead and 15 Missing from Greek Ship Attacked in Red Sea

The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C is seen near Cathlamet, Oregon, July 23, 2019. (Mike Cullom via AP)
The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C is seen near Cathlamet, Oregon, July 23, 2019. (Mike Cullom via AP)
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Four Dead and 15 Missing from Greek Ship Attacked in Red Sea

The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C is seen near Cathlamet, Oregon, July 23, 2019. (Mike Cullom via AP)
The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C is seen near Cathlamet, Oregon, July 23, 2019. (Mike Cullom via AP)

Rescuers pulled six crew members alive from the Red Sea on Wednesday and were searching for 15 still missing from the second of two freighters sunk in as many days by suspected Houthi attackers.

Four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C cargo ship were killed before the rest of the crew abandoned the vessel, which sank on Wednesday morning after being attacked on Monday and Tuesday, sources at security companies involved in a rescue operation said.

The six seafarers who were rescued had spent more than 24 hours in the water, they said. One source had said earlier that seven people had been rescued but the EU's Aspides naval mission, which protects Red Sea shipping, issued a statement confirming that just six had been pulled from the sea.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for a similar attack on Sunday targeting another ship, the Magic Seas. All crew from the Magic Seas were rescued before it sank.

"We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light," said an official at Greece-based maritime risk management firm Diaplous.

"We aim at a peaceful operation," the official said earlier.

Both of the ships that were attacked flew Liberia flags and were operated by Greek firms.

Eternity C was first attacked on Monday afternoon with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from speed boats by suspected Yemen-based Houthi militants, maritime security sources said. Lifeboats were destroyed during the raid. By Tuesday morning the vessel was adrift and listing.

Two security sources told Reuters on Wednesday that the vessel was hit again with sea drones on Tuesday, forcing the crew and armed guards to abandon it for the sea. The Houthis stayed with the vessel until the early hours of Wednesday, one of the sources said.

There were fears that some of the crew who jumped into the water may have been kidnapped by Houthis, the source added, according to Reuters. Skiffs were in the area as the rescue efforts were under way.

The crew comprised 21 Filipinos and one Russian. Three armed guards were also on board, including one Greek and one Indian, who was one of those rescued.