Algeria Uncovers Alleged Spy Ring with Moroccan and Israeli Links, President Says

"The investigation is still ongoing. Members of this network are on the run and we believe they had false passports. The trial will be public. Unfortunately, there are Algerians," Abdelmadjid Tebboune confided on Saturday evening during his periodic interview with the Algerian media.

The dismantling of this network prompted Algeria to reintroduce visas for Moroccans. This decision is both "security and political," said the Algerian president. Morocco, which has benefited from the "visa exemption regime," has "unfortunately engaged in various actions detrimental to the stability of Algeria and its national security, with the large-scale organization of organized crime networks, drug and human trafficking, smuggling, illegal immigration and acts of espionage, as well as the deployment of Zionist intelligence agents, holders of Moroccan passports, to freely access the national territory," the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The individuals arrested in Tlemcen would have carried out this espionage operation on behalf of Israel. "There is a twinning between the Zionist entity and Morocco, but what interests us is the security aspect. We have suspicions that some came with Moroccan passports. What are they coming to do with us?, " questioned the Algerian president. "To see the port of Oran, Mers el Kébir (naval base, editor’s note) with the passports of an Arab country whose nationals can enter without a visa."

Tebboune also denied reports that Moroccans living in Algeria would be expelled from Algerian territory. "Our Moroccan brothers live among us. They are not bothered. They are among the people, no one knows if they are Moroccan or not. I make no difference. The Moroccan people are a brotherly people," he assured.