Mali accuses Algeria of sponsoring terror after having downing drone

Mali accused the neighbor of Algeria of being a sponsor and an exporter of terrorism after Algeria killed a Malian drone near their common border last week.

On Sunday, a strongly written declaration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali challenged the previous explanation of Algeria according to which the unmanned surveillance plane had violated its airspace.

The declaration described the drop in the drone as a “hostile premeditated action”. Algeria has described allegations as “lacking in gravity (and them) … do not guarantee any attention or response”.

The Armed Forces of Mali fight ethnic separatists from Tuareg in the North. They have a bastion in the city of Tinzaoutin, which rides the Mali-Algeria border.

The drone shooting marks an important escalation of diplomatic tension, because Mali, as well as its allies Niger and Burkina Faso, recalled their Algiers ambassadors.

Last year, the three countries led by the junta formed a regional block, the alliance of the states of Sahel, known by its French acronym AES.

In their joint declaration condemning Algeria, they declared that the drone shot “prevented the neutralization of a terrorist group which planned terrorist acts against the AES”.

Mali also summoned the Algerian ambassador to Bamako about the incident, declaring that he would file a complaint with “international body”. He also withdrew from a regional security group which includes Algeria.

In its response on Monday, Algeria said it noted Malian and AES statements with “deep dismay”. He described Mali’s allegations as an attempt to divert attention from his own failures.

Last Wednesday, Algeria admitted that it had shot down an “armed recognition drone” near Tinzaguti saying that it had “penetrated our airspace over a distance of 2 km”.

But the Bamako junta denied that the drone had violated Algerian airspace. He said the plane wreck was found 9.5 km inside its borders.

Giving more details on Monday, Algeria said that the plane had entered its airspace “then went out before returning to an attack trajectory”.

Mali regularly accuses Algeria of giving shelter to the armed groups of Tuareg.

The North African country has already been a key mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali and the separatists. Their relations have been embittered since 2020 after the soldiers took power in Bamako.

Algeria has recently deployed troops along its borders to prevent the infiltration of militants and weapons from jihadist groups operating in Mali and other countries in the West Africa region Sahel.