Marrakech – What played out yesterday, February 4, near Ich, in Morocco’s Figuig province, was not an isolated border incident nor a misunderstanding between patrols. It was the latest act in a long-running Algerian script: when strategy fails, escalation replaces argument; when legitimacy erodes, intimidation fills the void.
Video footage shows Algerian forces carrying out overtly provocative maneuvers along Morocco’s eastern frontier, unilaterally planting white-painted stone markers, firing shots into the air, uprooting protective fencing, tearing down barriers, and vandalizing local sites.
According to local accounts, residents were stunned from the early morning hours by the arrival of two Algerian military units near their orchards – an intrusion that blended fear with a deep sense of provocation.
Soldiers advanced toward cultivated farmland, removed protective fencing, and behaved as though the land were Algerian territory, despite decades of Moroccan use and clearly established understandings.
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As night fell, Algerian troops escalated further, firing repeated rounds into the sky until around 7 p.m., a deliberate show of force that spread anxiety among civilians in a region long associated with cross-border coexistence and solidarity during Algeria’s own war of independence.
Moroccan Royal Armed Forces units moved promptly to a nearby position, closely monitoring developments while engaging directly with residents to reassure them that no immediate danger existed. Military sources indicated that full details were transmitted to higher authorities before Moroccan units withdrew shortly thereafter.
These actions, carried out under the watchful restraint of the Royal Armed Forces, were meant to project strength.
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