Algeria arrests nine Moroccan illegal migrants

Algerian army troops on Sunday arrested nine illegal immigrants in the province of Ouargla, 800 km of the capital Algiers, defence ministry said in a statement.

The arrested people in question possessed a hunting rifle and cartridges, added the statement.

Even if there was no reference to a probable link between this arrest and recruitment of Moroccans to fight in Libya, the Algerian government has already warned about the existence of Moroccan nationals who join to Daech ranks in Libya through Algerian territory, Xinhua reported.

Last week, the Algerian Minister for Maghreb Affairs, the African Union and the Arab League, Abdelkader Messahel, had summoned the ambassador of Morocco to Algeria to inform him of the existence of "massive and unusual" flow of Moroccan nationals heading to violence ridden Libya through Algeria.

Soon after this remarks, the Algerian authorities on Friday suspended flights between Algiers and Tripoli until further notice.