Diplomatic crisis: Mali closes its airspace in Algeria

As of this Monday, Mali decided to close its airspace to all aircraft, civilians as soldiers, from Algeria, according to a press release from the Malian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

This measure, taken in principle of reciprocity, follows the announcement, relayed by press, according to which Algeria has closed its airspace to Malian planes, without prior notification.

This diplomatic escalation occurs in a context of increasing tensions between the two countries. On Sunday, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger published a joint statement announcing the recall of their ambassadors in Algeria. This decision aims to protest against the destruction, by the Algerian forces, of a Malian military drone.

In their press release, the three countries firmly denounced the Algerian act, accusing Algiers of having prevented, by this attack, the neutralization of an armed group which prepared terrorist actions against the Alliance of the States of the Sahel (AES).

In response, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday regretting having been forced to use the principle of reciprocity. He confirmed the recall of his ambassadors in Mali and Niger, while announcing the postponement of the appointment of a new ambassador to Burkina Faso.

For its part, the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in another statement, that a preliminary investigation had established that the drone had been shot by Algeria as part of a “hostile action”.

The incident dates back to the night from March 31 to April 1, when the drone crashed about 9.5 km from the Algerian border, inside the Malian territory. The crash vertically of the device suggests that it has been affected by a missile, soil-to-air or air-to-air.

The Algerian army, for its part, had said that the armed recognition drone had penetrated more than two kilometers inside its airspace, thus justifying its interception. To date, Algiers has not officially reached the decision of the three Sahelian countries to recall their ambassadors.

Relations between Mali and Algeria have been tense for several years, Bamako regularly accusing Algiers to tolerate the presence of terrorist groups in border areas.

In January 2024, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in response to sanctions imposed by the organization following military coups. On July 6, 2024, the leaders of the three countries met in Niamey, Niger, for their first summit of the AES, where they proclaimed the creation of the Confederation of States of the Sahel.