Election campaigns for mayoral candidates in Algeria, which kickstarted this week, were marked by strong criticism of Morocco over the killing of three Algerians in a Western Sahara buffer zone between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Algerian government wrote to international organizations about its accusation of Rabat being behind the attack.
During propaganda rallies for mayoral electoral campaigns, party leaders called for Algeria’s response to match the level of the event.
According to reports, three truck drivers had been killed in a bombing as they were traveling between the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott and the Algerian city of Ouargla.
Most party and independent candidates pointed out to the need to preserve the rights of the victims without having war break out.
“Avoid falling into the trap of slipping into war, but without compromising the rights of the victims by responding appropriately to the aggressors,” Abu Fadl Baaji, Secretary-General of the Liberation Front, told activists in Laghouat.
In other news, Algeria announced that Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra had sent messages to several international organizations to follow up on the assassination of the three Algerian truckers.
The messages were addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Youssef Ben Ahmed Al-Othaimeen.
In these official letters, Lamamra informed the heads of international organizations of “the extreme gravity of this indefensible act.”
Lamamra expressed “the willingness and ability of Algeria to assume its responsibilities in protecting its citizens and their property in all circumstances.”
In addition, ambassadors accredited to Algeria were received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Algeria’s contact with the UN and regional bodies on the issue of the killing of its nationals, according to observers, is an effort to bring international diplomatic pressure against Rabat.
