TUNIS (Reuters) -Algeria has banned flights to and from Mali due to “recurrent violations” of Algerian air space, its Defence Ministry said on Monday amid an escalating diplomatic crisis.
On April 1, the ministry said the army had shot down an armed surveillance drone for violating the North African country’s airspace near the rural Saharan commune of Tinzaouaten. Mali disagreed, noting that its drone wreckage was found 9.5 kilometres (5.9 miles) south of their shared border.
Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that data related to the incident, including radar images, proved a violation of Algerian air space of 1.6 km.
Mali and its allies Burkina Faso and Niger recalled their ambassadors from Algeria for consultations over the incident, they said on Sunday. Algeria responded on Monday by recalling its ambassador to Niger and Mali and postponing the start date of its new ambassador in Burkina Faso.
In a joint statement, the three Sahel countries condemned the “irresponsible act by the Algerian regime”.
(Reporting by Hatem Maher, Menna Alaa and Tarek Amara; Editing by Richard Chang)
