On behalf of the Government and the people of the Republic of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has conveyed messages of condolences to the governments and the people of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, and particularly to the families, friends and colleagues of all the victims of the military plane that crashed near Algeria’s capital, Algiers, on Wednesday, 11 April 2018.

It is reported that at least 257 people died in the crash, including 26 members of Western Sahara’s Polisario Front. The Algerian Government has declared three days of national mourning.

President Ramaphosa said that many people in Algeria and Western Sahara are grieving the loss of their loved ones. The people of South Africa share their pain and loss and extend their most sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.

Issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation