From left, Niger Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare, Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traore attend a joint news conference following a meeting of Russian foreign Minister with foreign Ministers of the Confederation of Sahel States in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A military alliance between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew their respective ambassadors from Algeria in response to the downing of a Malian drone last week, the group said late Sunday.

The Alliance of Sahel States, which goes by its French acronym AES, blamed Algeria on social media for the drone's downing and condemned it as an “irresponsible act” that violated international law.

The act was "contrary to historical relations and fraternal relations between the peoples of the AES Confederation and the Algerian people,” the group said.

Malian Prime Minister Gen. Abdoulaye Maiga, in a statement on the Malian Foreign Ministry's social media, denied claims by the Algerian government that the drone had violated Algeria's airspace by over 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). He claimed that “this action proves, if proof were needed, that the Algerian regime sponsors international terrorism.”

Mali in the statement also summoned the Algerian ambassador, withdrew from a 15-year-old regional military group that includes fellow AES member Niger, and will file a complaint with “international bodies” about the incident.

The development comes as tensions are on the rise between Algeria and its southern neighbors, including Mali.

After coming into power, the juntas in the three AES countries left the Economic Community of West African States, the nearly 50-year-old regional bloc known as ECOWAS, and created their own security partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States, in September last year.

Some analysts described it as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors.

Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, said the latest war of words was unlikely to escalate beyond that. He doubted the Malian government's ability to conduct a thorough investigation because the crash "took place in an area it doesn’t control, and what remains of the drone has been recovered by groups opposed to the government.”

"That being said things are unlikely to escalate beyond the communication war. Mali, and other AES members would not engage militarily against Algeria, and vice versa. This will most likely only further existing diplomatic tensions at the moment,” continued Lyammouri.

Algeria once served as a key mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali’s government and Tuareg rebels. But the two countries have grown apart since a military junta staged coups in 2020 and 2021, putting military personnel in charge of Mali's key institutions.

Algeria has denounced the direction that Mali’s new government has taken and its expanded efforts to quash rebellion in historically volatile parts of northern Mali. Afraid of the conflict spilling over the border, Algerian officials have denounced Mali’s use of Russian mercenaries and armed drones near Tin Zaouatine, a border town in the north were the drone was found.

The Malian government did not recover the drone and videos seen on social media, posted by northern rebels, show them in possession of the remains of a Turkish made Akinci drone manufactured by Baykar downed in Tin Zaouatine. Mali purchased at least two from the Turkish company last year and has used them against armed separatists as well as fighters linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Algeria has one of Africa’s largest militaries and has long considered itself a regional power but military leaders in neighboring Mali and Niger have distanced themselves as they’ve championed autonomy and sought new alliances, including with Russia.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025