NewsTracker Answers for week of Sep. 04, 2023

Q: Two tourists vacationing at a Morocco beach resort were shot dead by Algeria’s coastguard after they strayed into Algerian waters on water scooters. Another tourist was arrested, and a fourth swam back to Moroccan territory. Where is Algeria, the largest country in Africa?

Circle the area on this map


Q: The border between the North African nations has been closed since 1994 in a dispute over Morocco’s claims to the territory of Western Sahara. Which sea were the four men on during the deadly encounter?

A. Arabian

B. Black

C. Mediterranean

D. Red


C. Algeria and Morocco are on Africa’s Mediterranean Sea coast. Morocco also borders the Atlantic Ocean. France said one of the dead men and the jailed tourist were French citizens


Q: Algeria and Morocco have had border disputes dating back to the days of French colonization and even fought each other in the “Sand War” of 1963. Before the French, Algeria was invaded many times. Which of these empires did NOT once rule Algeria?

A. British

B. Byzantine

C. Ottoman

D. Roman


A. The British once ruled much of Africa but not Algeria or Morocco. The first outsiders to rule parts of Algeria were the Phoenicians, who came from the area of what is now Lebanon. They were followed by Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Ottoman Turks before France colonized what is now Algeria from 1830 to 1962.


Q: The Barbary Coast was the name once given to the Mediterranean coastal region of Morocco, Algeria, Tunis and western Libya. The name came from what indigenous group native to North Africa?

A. Barbudans

B. Berbers

C. Bengals

D. Bulgars


B. The Berbers descended from Stone Age tribes of North Africa and predated the migration of Arabs to the region from the early 7th century to the 17th century. Although almost all Algerians are Berber in origin, only 15% identify themselves as primarily Berber. Most identify as Arabic, which became the dominant culture and language of the region.


Q: The Algerian government has supported indigenous Sahrawi people fighting Morocco’s 1975 annexation of Western Sahara. Which nation had ruled Western Sahara as a colony from 1884 to 1975?

A. France

B. Germany

C. Italy

D. Spain


D. Spain ruled West Sahara and also some parts of Morocco before it gained independence from France and Spain in 1956. European powers in the 19th century coveted Morocco for its strategic position on the southern end of the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Europe and Africa are only 8.1 miles apart at the strait.