Algeria prepares legal case against Morocco
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Observ'Algérie
Algeria is preparing a legal case over pollution of the Mouilah wadi, which crosses the Moroccan-Algerian border, with a view to possible international proceedings. Former minister Mustapha Kamel Mihoubi said scientific analyses should document the deterioration of the water, according to El Khabar cited by Observ’Algérie.
Algeria is considering preparing a legal case against Morocco over pollution of the waters of the Mouilah wadi, which crosses the border before reaching the Tlemcen region, according to the Algerian daily El Khabar, cited by Observ’Algérie on 2 November 2026. A case before international bodies could be considered.
Mustapha Kamel Mihoubi, a former Algerian water resources minister and professor at the National Higher School of Hydraulics, said scientific research would continue to gather laboratory analyses and documented evidence. The aim is to establish the deterioration in water quality after it passes through Morocco, without prejudging the final attribution of responsibility.
The reported pollution concerns, in particular, the Hammam Boughrara dam in Tlemcen wilaya, which supplies water to Maghnia, Tlemcen and part of Aïn Témouchent wilaya. Nearly two million people could be affected, while experts meeting in Tlemcen reported concentrations of certain pollutants above international benchmarks, according to Observ’Algérie.
The recommendations were made at an international conference on protecting transboundary waterways, held in Tlemcen from 26 to 29 October. On 27 October, researchers from the University of Tlemcen had already raised concerns about the quality of the Mouilah wadi and mentioned discharges of wastewater and industrial waste from Morocco’s Oujda region, according to APS.
