Algerian Band Cancels Morocco Concert Amid Saidia Tragedy Fallout

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the cancellation of our performance scheduled at the Timitar festival in Agadir, where we had the privilege of making our first stage abroad," wrote Amine, the leader of the Algerian group Amine Babylone, in a post on Facebook on Tuesday. A message he later deleted. This "decision stems from circumstances independent" of the "will" of the group, he assured, before mentioning "unforeseen factors" that "forced them to make this difficult decision." He was supposed to perform on Thursday, September 7 on the Timitar festival stage in Agadir.

This decision has led to several interpretations on social media. Some Moroccan Internet users believe that the cancellation of the concert is linked to the murder by the Algerian coast guards of two vacationers - a Franco-Moroccan and a Moroccan - lost in the Algerian maritime space, bordering Saidia, a very popular seaside resort. According to them, the Algerian group would prefer to withdraw from the Agadir festival program in order to avoid any embarrassing questions from the media about the tragedy. Others think, on the other hand, that the Algerian authorities would have prohibited the group from performing in Morocco.

Recently, the management of a nightclub located in Casablanca, in Ain Diab, canceled the concert of the Algerian singer Warda, better known as "Charlomanti" scheduled for the same day. It was responding to the request of Moroccans who no longer want Algerian artists on Moroccan territory due to the lack of solidarity following the murder by the Algerian coast guards of two Franco-Moroccan vacationers on jet skis who had strayed into the Algerian maritime space. The management also justified the cancellation of "Cheba Warda’s" evening as a sign of solidarity with the Moroccan people and the families of the victims of the Saidia tragedy.