Algeria offers humanitarian aid to quake-hit Morocco

ALGIERS, Algeria

Algeria on Sunday offered emergency humanitarian aid to Morocco following a deadly earthquake that killed hundreds in the North African country.

At least 2,122 people were killed and 2,421 others injured when a magnitude-7 earthquake struck Morocco late Friday, according to the Interior Ministry.

“Algeria is offering an emergency assistance plan if accepted by the Kingdom of Morocco,” the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the step is part of Algeria’s emergency logistical and material aid to the Moroccan people following the quake disaster.

“The assistance would include sending a civil protection intervention team consisting of 80 specialists to Morocco, as well as a technical team specialized in searching under the rubble and a medical team,” it added.

The plan also includes “providing those affected by the earthquake with humanitarian aid, including first aid, mattresses and tents,” the statement said.

The quake was the strongest tremor to hit the North African country in the last century, according to Morocco’s National Geophysical Institute.

On Saturday, Algeria offered condolences to Morocco and opened its airspace for humanitarian and medical flights to and from its neighboring country.

Algeria and Morocco are regional rivals whose ties are strained over the disputed Western Sahara region.

In August 2021, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco, accusing Rabat of having "hostile tendencies," an accusation vehemently denied by Rabat.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar