Algeria accuses Morocco of polluting a river near the border

Algeria on Tuesday accused Morocco of deliberately polluting a river feeding a dam near their border, the official APS news agency reported.

Visiting Maghnia (west), Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad affirmed that the pollution affecting Oued Mouilah was “not accidental” but was part of “a systematic aggression”. Morocco did not immediately react to these allegations. However, Oued Mouilah supplies the Hammam Boughrara dam, an essential water resource for the region. “The environmental situation at the dam is extremely worrying,” said the director of the National Environmental Observatory in Algeria, Karim Arab.

He told APS that analyzes revealed the presence of pollutants, including nitrates, ammonia and heavy metals. Algerian MPs demanded that this “cross-border attack” be brought before international courts and tribunals. According to a study carried out in 2021, the Hammam Boughrara dam has a capacity of 177 million cubic meters, contributing to the water supply of more than 1.2 million people throughout the region.

Relations between Algeria and Morocco have experienced strong tensions for years. In 2021, Algiers broke off diplomatic relations with its neighbor. The two countries are opposed in particular on the question of Western Sahara, which Rabat considers to be an integral part of its territory while Algiers supports the Polisario Front and the right to self-determination of the Sahrawis. Added to these disputes are mutual accusations of interference, security disputes and a closure of the land border since 1994.