ALGIERS - Algeria has dropped Orascom Telecom's adverts from all of the country's terrestrial television stations, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said, the latest move in a long-running dispute.

Egypt-based Orascom Telecom has been locked in a disagreement over its Algerian unit since the Algerian government last year hit it with a back tax claim, banned it from transferring cash overseas and blocked its sale to South Africa's MTN.

A senior executive with state television did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. An Orascom Telecom spokeswoman at the firm's headquarters in Cairo declined to comment.

Advertisements for the Orascom Telecom unit continue to run on state-controlled radio and in several newspapers, including some which are state-owned.