Oran: “Algiers accuses without proving anything” — here are the press releases
Youssef B. — Casablanca, Maroc — 2026-10-12
On 12 October 2026, the Moroccan website actu-maroc.com published an article entitled “61 Moroccans arrested in Oran: Algiers accuses without proving anything”. The whole argument rests on that headline: with no public evidence, the accusation would be empty. That confuses a criminal case with a press release — and forgets that a press release can be read, quoted and verified.
Here are two: the one from Oran, dated 11 October 2026; and the one from the Ouargla–Nouakchott road, dated 3 November 2021.
1. What the Oran press release says
According to the press release of the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), taken up by the APS news agency: “the national security services dismantled an international Moroccan criminal network, whose members were operating on national territory, and proceeded to the arrest of 61 individuals of Moroccan nationality who were preparing to commit acts of sabotage affecting public security and order in the country”.
Four documented points. The unit: the criminal investigation service of the security directorate of the wilaya of Oran. The period: “early October”, without a precise day. The mode of entry: those concerned “had infiltrated national territory after arriving by air at Tunis international airport”, then by “the rugged mountain tracks and isolated forest trails of the El Kala region, in the wilaya of El Tarf, on the border with Tunisia”, before reaching the wilaya of Oran overland. The seizures: “Moroccan passports” and sums in dirhams and euros. The follow-up is judicial: an operation conducted “under the supervision of the competent prosecutor's office”, with suspects “brought before the public prosecutor at the specialised criminal division of Oran”.
The figure — 61 — is identical in every take-up consulted, in French as in Arabic.
What that press release does not say, we wrote on 11 October: neither the exact nature of the acts, nor the targets, nor the means, nor the day of the arrests. “Not publicly documented” and “false” are not synonyms. The whole difference between an ongoing case and a conclusion lies in that gap.
2. A State does not “prove” in a press release: it refers to the courts
In a security case, the evidence is not published: it is argued before a court, in adversarial proceedings, with a defence. A State does not deliver a verdict in a press release: it arrests, and it refers to the prosecutor's office. Demanding the exhibit before the trial is not a legal argument — it is a communications technique.
Two things must be said. The 61 people are presumed innocent: their guilt is established by nothing we have read. And the rights invoked — a lawyer, a fair trial, consular protection — are contested by no one: anyone may demand them. But demanding rights is not establishing a fact: mixing the two produces neither evidence nor a trial.
3. November 2021: what happened on the Ouargla–Nouakchott road
The same reasoning holds in the other direction. Recent history provides a point of comparison.
On 1 November 2021, in the afternoon, three Algerian lorry drivers were killed on the Nouakchott–Ouargla commercial route. They were carrying white cement to Mauritania. The two lorries were stationary when they were hit. The victims are Hmida Boumediene, from Laghouat, Ahmed Belkhir Chtam and Brahim Larbaoui, both from Ouargla.
On Wednesday 3 November 2021, the Presidency of the Republic issued a press release. We quote it as published: “On 1 November 2021, as the Algerian people were celebrating in joy and serenity the 67th anniversary of the outbreak of the glorious Revolution of national liberation, three (03) Algerian nationals were cowardly assassinated by a barbaric bombardment of their lorries, as they were travelling the Nouakchott-Ouargla route, in the natural movement of commercial exchange between the peoples of the region.” The press release adds that “several factors point to the Moroccan occupation forces in Western Sahara as having committed, with sophisticated weaponry, this cowardly assassination”.
Where? On the stretch between Aïn Bentili and Bir Lahlou, according to Le Jeune Indépendant. On 14 November 2021, the Sahrawi bureau for the coordination of anti-mine action stated, in a press release relayed by Radio Algérienne, that the site lay neither in a confirmed dangerous area, nor in a presumed dangerous area, nor in a grey area: the nearest dangerous point is more than 10 km away and is not mined; the nearest mine-explosion point, more than 50 km away. El Moudjahid, for its part, headlined lorries “stationary, empty and parked” and a crime that “did not take place in the buffer zone”.
So, the question. When three Algerian drivers die on a commercial road, was Algiers asked for “proof”? Or was Rabat's version published first?
4. The two versions, side by side
Our rule: present the two versions and let the reader judge.
The Algerian version — that of the Presidency, on 3 November 2021: the bombardment of two stationary lorries, several factors pointing to the Moroccan forces in Western Sahara. According to the EFE agency, MINURSO went to the site; two lorries were burned out; the Algerian side attributes the strike to a drone that took off from Smara.
The Moroccan version — relayed on 3 November 2021 by the newspaper Assahifa, citing “a high-level Moroccan source” via Al-Arabiya: the Royal Armed Forces struck no target, civilian or military, on Mauritanian or Algerian territory; two Algerian lorries crossed a minefield in the buffer zone; their drivers were carrying military equipment for the Polisario Front; the affair was “fabricated” and had already been denied by the Mauritanian authorities.
There are the two texts. One asserts a bombardment; the other, a minefield. We do not settle what we have not seen — and that is what “Algiers accuses without proving anything” does not do: it presents a single account and does not even quote the press release it claims to refute.
5. What is not established — on either side
- Oran: the exact nature of the acts, their targets, their means and the day of the arrests are not published. The guilt of the 61 people is not established; the proceedings are ongoing before the specialised criminal division of Oran. No official Moroccan reaction found to date — scepticism was expressed in Moroccan media circles, not before a body (Asharq Al-Awsat, 12/10/2026).
- Ouargla–Nouakchott (2021): the attribution to the Moroccan forces is that of the Algerian Presidency; Morocco contests it through an anonymous source, not through an official statement that we were able to open. The judicial outcome and MINURSO's conclusions are not known to us.
- We have not used the Mauritanian army's denial: it concerns another episode — the bombardment of a convoy — and not the death of the three drivers. We do not confuse the two.
- Two El Moudjahid articles are cited by their headlines and their URLs; we rely, for the substance, on Radio Algérienne and Le Jeune Indépendant.
We ask no one to believe us: we ask them to read the two versions, with their dates and their sources.
Youssef B. — Casablanca, Morocco
📚 COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHY (rule no. 19)
1. actu-maroc.com (Morocco, fr), « 61 Marocains arrêtés à Oran : Alger accuse sans rien prouver », 12 October 2026 — the article this dossier answers; it neither quotes nor reproduces the DGSN press release — https://actu-maroc.com/61-marocains-arretes-a-oran-alger-accuse-sans-rien-prouver/
2. Radio Algérienne (fr), « Démantèlement d'un réseau criminel international marocain qui préparait des actes de sabotage sur le territoire national », 11 October 2026, 18:36, APS source — DGSN press release: 61 individuals of Moroccan nationality, “acts of sabotage”, the Oran criminal investigation police, “early October”, Tunis/El Kala/El Tarf, seizure of Moroccan passports and foreign currency, referral to the public prosecutor at the specialised criminal division of Oran — https://news.radioalgerie.dz/fr/node/96239
3. Algérie360 (fr), « Oran : 61 Marocains arrêtés, un réseau criminel international démantelé », 11 October 2026, 19:32 — detailed take-up of the same press release; “early October”; competent prosecutor's office — https://www.algerie360.com/oran-marocains-arretes-reseau-criminel-demantele/
4. Ennahar Online (ar), « توقيف 61 مغربيًا كانوا بصدد التحضير لأعمال تخريبية في الجزائر », 11 October 2026 — Arabic version of the press release: « أعمال تخريبية » (acts of sabotage), El Kala/El Tarf route, « وكيل الجمهورية لدى القطب الجزائي المتخصص بوهران » — https://www.ennaharonline.com/%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%82%d9%8a%d9%81-61-%d9%85%d8%ba%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%83%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%88%d8%a7-%d8%a8%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%b6%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%84%d8%a3%d8%b9%d9%85%d8%a7/
5. Asharq Al-Awsat (ar, London, pan-Arab), « مخاوف من أزمة جديدة بعد توقيف الجزائر 61 مغربياً », 12 October 2026, 15:40 — Sunday's announcement; “no official response from Rabat so far”; scepticism in Moroccan media circles; AFP notes that the press release specifies neither the nature of the acts, nor their targets, nor the means — https://aawsat.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A/%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7/5328739-%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%81-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1-61-%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%8B
6. Radio Algérienne (fr), « Communiqué de la Présidence de la République : 3 ressortissants algériens lâchement assassinés sur l'axe Nouakchott-Ouargla », 3 November 2021, 14:17 — full text of the press release: “on 1 November 2021 […] three (03) Algerian nationals were cowardly assassinated by a barbaric bombardment of their lorries”; “several factors point to the Moroccan occupation forces in Western Sahara” — https://news.radioalgerie.dz/fr/node/721
7. Radio Algérienne (fr), « Assassinat de trois ressortissants algériens : l'attaque n'a pas eu lieu dans une zone dangereuse », 14 November 2021, 18:18 — Sahrawi bureau for the coordination of anti-mine action: the site lay “neither in a confirmed dangerous area, nor in a presumed dangerous area, nor in a grey area”; the nearest dangerous point more than 10 km away, not mined; the nearest mine-explosion point more than 50 km away — https://news.radioalgerie.dz/fr/node/1188
8. Le Jeune Indépendant (fr), « Trois camionneurs algériens tués dans un bombardement marocain », 2 November 2021, 22:50 — bombardment “in the afternoon of 1 November 2021”; Nouakchott-Ouargla route; white cement to Mauritania; “the two lorries were stationary”; area between Aïn Bentili and Bir Lahlou; victims Hmida Boumediene (Laghouat), Ahmed Belkhir Chtam and Brahim Larbaoui (Ouargla) — https://www.jeune-independant.net/agression-marocaine-contre-des-camioneurs-algeriens-trois-morts/
9. EFE / swissinfo.ch (es), « Repatriados los cuerpos de los 3 civiles argelinos muertos en ataque marroquí », 7 November 2021, 18:50 — transfer of the bodies from the Tindouf hospital morgue to the airport, then to their towns; victims “Hamida Boumediane, Ahmed Belkhir Chtam and Brahim Larbaoui”; bombardment as they passed the locality of Bir Lahlou; MINURSO investigation moved to the site; precision strike attributed to a drone that took off from Smara — https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/repatriados-los-cuerpos-de-los-3-civiles-argelinos-muertos-en-ataque-marroqu%C3%AD/47091506
10. Echorouk (ar, Algeria), « نقل جثامين شهداء الغدر المخزني إلى عائلاتهم من أجل تشييعها », 7 November 2021 — transfer of the bodies (hospital « Si El Haouas » in Tindouf); victims: Hmida Boumediene (born 1973, married, nine children, haulier, commune of Aïn Madhi, wilaya of Laghouat), Ibrahim Arbaoui (born 1987, Aflou, Laghouat), Achthem Ahmed (born 1986, wilaya of Ouargla) — https://www.echoroukonline.com/%d9%86%d9%82%d9%84-%d8%ac%d8%ab%d8%a7%d9%85%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%b4%d9%87%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%ae%d8%b2%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a5%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%aa%d9%87%d9%85-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a3%d8%ac%d9%84-%d8%aa%d8%b4%d9%8a%d9%8a%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%a7
11. Al-Ayyam (ar, Algiers), « الرئاسة الجزائرية: استشهاد 3 جزائريين بـ«قصف مغربي همجي لن يمر دون عقاب» », Wednesday 3 November 2021 — take-up of the Presidency's press release: « قصف همجي لشاحنتهم على الحدود بين ورقلة ونواكشوط الموريتانية » ; « الاغتيال الجبان تزامن مع الذكرى الـ67 » — https://www.alayyam.info/news/8SNKFROM-E44VGL-ED16
12. Al-Alam (ar, Tehran), « الجزائر تعلن استشهاد 3 من مواطنيها بـ'قصف همجي مغربي لن يمر دون عقاب' », Wednesday 3 November 2021 — take-up of the press release: bombardment of the lorries “on the border between Ouargla and Nouakchott, along their usual commercial route”; “several factors indicate the involvement of the Moroccan forces” — https://www.alalam.ir/news/5881338/
13. Assahifa (Morocco, ar), « مصدر رفيع المستوى: الجزائريون الذين ماتوا في الصحراء قضوا داخل حقل ألغام وكانوا ينقلون عتادا عسكريا للبوليساريو », 3 November 2021, 18:35 — the Moroccan version: denial of any strike on civilian or military targets on Mauritanian or Algerian territory; “two Algerian lorries crossed a minefield in the buffer zone”; “their drivers were carrying military equipment for the Polisario Front”; an affair “fabricated” and already denied by the Mauritanian authorities; an anonymous source (“high-level source”) cited via Al-Arabiya — https://www.assahifa.com/%d9%85%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%b9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%89-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b0%d9%8a%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%a7/
14. El Moudjahid (fr), « Une attaque terroriste ciblant des civiles : Les deux camions étaient à l'arrêt, vide et stationnés lors du bombardement » — headline and URL — https://www.elmoudjahid.com/fr/actualite/une-attaque-terroriste-ciblant-des-civiles-les-deux-camions-etaient-a-l-arret-vide-et-stationnes-lors-du-bombardement-174289
15. El Moudjahid (fr), « Assassinat des ressortissants algériens par le Maroc : Le crime n'a pas eu lieu dans la zone tampon » — headline and URL — https://www.elmoudjahid.com/fr/actualite/assassinat-des-ressortissants-algeriens-par-le-maroc-le-crime-n-a-pas-eu-lieu-dans-la-zone-tampon-174541
16. El Bilad (ar, Algeria), « رئاسة الجمهورية: اغتيال 3 جزائريين في قصف للاحتلال المغربي على خط ورقلة نواكشوط » — take-up of the Presidency's press release: « 3 مواطنين جزائريين » killed by « قصف بربري لشاحناتهم » on the Ouargla–Nouakchott route; the press release promises that their « assassinat ne restera pas impuni » ; publication date not displayed on the page consulted on 12/10/2026 — https://www.elbilad.net/national/98816
17. France 24, « Sahara occidental : trois Algériens tués dans un bombardement attribué au Maroc », 3 November 2021 — international source confirming the event and its attribution — https://www.france24.com/fr/afrique/20211103-sahara-occidental-trois-alg%C3%A9riens-tu%C3%A9s-dans-un-bombardement-attribu%C3%A9-au-maroc
⚠️ Published reservations.
(1) Two sources are cited by their headlines. Their URLs are given above, with their dates; we base the substance on Radio Algérienne and Le Jeune Indépendant.
(2) The publication date of the El Bilad (ar) take-up is not displayed on the page consulted; its content is consistent with the other sources, but we do not attribute a date of its own to it.
(3) The identity of the former Moroccan soldier arrested in Oran is not published, and we do not seek it: giving it would add nothing to the file.
(4) The 2021 Moroccan version rests on an anonymous source — “a high-level Moroccan source” cited via Al-Arabiya and taken up by Assahifa. We report it as such, not as an official press release.
(5) Presumption of innocence. The 61 people arrested in Oran are presumed innocent; no guilt is established. The article says so.
(6) The 2021 attribution is that of the Algerian Presidency. We never present it as our own established fact: the text is quoted, dated, sourced, and the Moroccan contestation appears alongside it.
(7) The Mauritanian army's denial is NOT used: in the file it concerns another episode — the bombardment of a convoy — and not the death of the three drivers. We do not confuse the two.
(8) No take-up inference is adopted. Asharq Al-Awsat writes that the group set out “from Morocco to Tunisia by air”: the DGSN press release does not say where the flight departed from. We do not adopt that inference.
(9) The word used for Oran remains “acts of sabotage” — the press release's word. No more serious term is used for this case.
(10) Transcription of the names. The three victims of 2021 are written here in the Latin form published by Le Jeune Indépendant and EFE (Hmida Boumediene, Ahmed Belkhir Chtam, Brahim Larbaoui); the Arabic-language press (Echorouk) gives Arabic spellings and dates of birth that may differ slightly.
(11) No judgment on any people, nation or religion is made in this file; the vocabulary proscribed by the editorial team does not appear in it.
(12) Classification: no SCOOP badge. The file reveals no document; it sets public documents side by side.