Dakar, Senegal (AP) – The military alliance between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has withdrawn their respective ambassadors from Algeria in response to the landing of Mali drones this week, the group said Sunday afternoon.
Sahel’s alliance, with its French acronym AE, blames Algeria for the landing of drones and condemns it as “irresponsible conduct” that violates international law.
The group said the bill “violates the historical and brotherly relationship between the AES Federation and the people of Algeria”.
In a statement on social media, the Mali Foreign Ministry denied the Algerian government’s claim that the drone violated 2 km (1.2 miles) of Algerian airspace, claiming instead that “if proof is needed, if proof is needed, the Algerian regime sponsors international terrorism.”
In the statement, Mali also convened the Algerian ambassador to withdraw the 15-year-old regional military group including AES member Niger and filed a complaint about the incident with the “international body”.
The incident comes as tensions intensify between Algeria and its southern neighbors, including Mali.
Algeria was once the main mediator for more than a decade between the Mali government and the Tuareg rebels. However, since the military government launched a coup in 2020 and 2021, the two countries have been separated, leaving military personnel in charge of the main institutions in Mali.
Algeria condemned the direction the new government of Mali took and its expanded efforts to cancel the insurgency in the historically volatile areas of northern Mali. Algerian officials feared the conflict overflowed the border and condemned Mali’s use of Russian mercenaries and armed drones near Tsina Zaouatine, where drones were found in the northern border town.
Algeria is one of Africa’s largest military forces and has long considered itself a regional force, but military leaders near Mali and Niger stand out in fostering autonomy and seek new alliances, including with Russia.
