After openly criticizing Morocco, former Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who is running in the next Algerian presidential election, addressed the reopening of land borders between the Kingdom and Algeria. Tebboune told reporters, Sunday, that the «Moroccan people love their Algerian neighbors». «I invite those who cannot see this to remember the joy of Moroccans when Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Rabat, Casablanca and Oujda», he recalled. The politician, however, stressed that in order to open land borders «[Moroccans] have to apologize. Because [they] were not closed because of the Western Sahara issue. We must not distort reality». «I remember having university students who went to Morocco. It took them three days to leave», he said, adding that «people helped them reach the borders to leave the country». Tebboune accused Morocco of contributing to this «embargo» previously imposed on Algeria by France. «Nearly 350,000 Algerians were stuck (in Morocco), until boats and buses repatriated them», he added. For the record, the presidential candidate criticized Morocco earlier in November, citing the Western Sahara conflict.
