Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — members of the Sahel States Alliance (AES) — have recalled their ambassadors from Algeria for consultations after the Algerian military shot down a Malian drone last week. The decision was announced in a communiqué from Mali’s interim president, Assimi Goïta, who currently chairs the AES.
“The heads of state of the Sahel Alliance express their regret over the downing of a drone belonging to the Malian Armed Forces, destroyed in a hostile act by the Algerian regime on the night of March 31 to April 1 in Tinzaouaten, within Mali’s Kidal region,” the statement read.
AES leaders characterized the incident as “an act of aggression against all member states of the alliance and a treacherous move that emboldens terrorism and threatens stability across the region.”
In response, the three countries decided to withdraw their ambassadors from Algeria for consultations.
Algeria’s Ministry of Defense had earlier claimed its air defenses shot down a drone that entered Algerian airspace from Mali and penetrated two kilometers into its territory.
Mali, however, maintains that the drone was operating entirely within its own airspace as part of counterterrorism operations and did not cross into Algerian territory.
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Based on TASS materials