Algeria Protests French Magazine’s Mischaracterization of Tindouf Region

In a clarification addressed to the editor-in-chief of the magazine, the Algerian diplomat writes: "It is with great surprise that I took note of the article published by the digital editorial staff of your newspaper (Le Point Afrique with AFP) on January 19 at 11:45 am under the title (Algerian maneuvers in the Sahara near the Moroccan border) which is based on an AFP dispatch."

According to him, the ideal would have been for the editorial staff of the weekly "to verify the information it reported, before indulging in allegations devoid of any basis on the territorial affiliation of the wilaya of Tindouf." "At least, it would have been simpler and certainly more credible to faithfully reproduce the AFP paragraphs, as required by the rules of ethics and professional conduct of the journalistic profession," he believes.

Mr. Daoud says he is surprised to read in the lead of the article "that Algeria has carried out military maneuvers in the area under the control of the Polisario Front," then "in the body of the text, that Tindouf (south) is a province of the Sahara under the administration of the Polisario Front and bordering Morocco." This "serious slip-up (...) calls for a correction" from the editorial team of the weekly, which must "find the appropriate terms to restore the reality of the facts in their meaning and their significance," concluded the Algerian diplomat.