A view shows a damaged building on the road between Amizmiz and Ouirgane, following a powerful earthquake in Morocco, September 9, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed El Jechtimi Acquire Licensing RightsALGIERS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Morocco's deadly earthquake prompted Algeria, which cut ties with its neighbour two years ago, to put aside the countries' bad relations and open its air space to aid flights. The border between Algeria and Morocco, the most powerful countries in the region, has been closed since 1994 and Algiers closed its air space to Morocco and suspended diplomatic relations in 2021, accusing Rabat of "hostile acts". During deadly wildfires in Algeria during each of the past three summers, Morocco has made offers of aid that Algiers has publicly ignored. Many Algerians voiced solidarity with Morocco on social media, some saying they hoped the bad political ties would not get in the way of helping their neighbour.

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Persons: Ahmed El Jechtimi, Abdelkader Bengrina, Al Bina, Lamine Chikhi, Tarek Amara, Angus McDowall, Mark Heinrich, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Rabat, Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: Amizmiz, Morocco, ALGIERS, Algeria, Algiers, Western Sahara, North Africa, Europe