ALGIERS, Algeria (AFP) – Algeria said Thursday it was imposing visa requirements on Moroccans, accusing its North African rival of criminal activity in its territory, including “Zionist espionage” and “drug and human trafficking”.

A statement carried by the official APS news agency charged that Morocco had “engaged in various actions that threaten Algeria’s stability”.

Algeria said Morocco had “deployed Zionist espionage agents holding Moroccan passports to freely enter the national territory”, in addition to conducting “organised crime, drug and human trafficking”.

Algeria broke diplomatic ties with Morocco in August 2021, citing “hostile acts” by its neighbour just months after Rabat’s normalisation of relations with Israel.

The two North African countries’ borders have been closed since 1994.

On September 1, days before Algeria’s presidential elections, authorities in Tlemcen, a northwestern city bordering Morocco, said they arrested seven people including four Moroccans accused of belonging to a spy ring.

Thursday’s statement said Algeria was “committed to preserve ties” with the Moroccan people, calling it “brotherly” and blaming the kingdom for recent diplomatic rifts.

“The Moroccan regime alone bears responsibility for the current deterioration of bilateral relations due to its hostile and aggressive actions against Algeria,” it said.