Mali accuses Algeria of sponsoring terrorism after Downing drone

Mali accused Algeria, of being a sponsor and source of terrorism after Algeria shot down a Mali drone near its joint borders last week.

A statement of his formulation strongly challenged the Foreign Ministry in Mali on Sunday the previous interpretation of Algeria that the uninhabited monitoring plane had violated the airspace.

The statement described the shooting of the drone as “hostile to those with preparation.” Algeria did not respond to the accusation.

The armed forces in Mali are fighting the ethnic separatists in the north. They have a stronghold in the town of Tinzaoutin, which roams at the borders received.

The shooting of drones represents a great escalation of diplomatic tension, as it summoned Mali, along with its Niger allies and Burkina Faso, their ambassadors from Algeria.

Last year, the three countries led by the Military Council formed a regional bloc, the coalition of the Sahel countries, known for its French AES.

In their joint statement condemning Algeria, they said that the shooting of the drone was “preventing the neutralization of a terrorist group that was planning terrorist acts against AES.”

Mali also summoned the Algerian ambassador to Bamako because of the accident, declaring that she will file a complaint to “international bodies”. He also withdrew from a regional security group that includes Algeria.

Last Wednesday, Algeria admitted that it had dropped an “armed reconnaissance” near Tenzutin, saying it had “penetrated our airspace at a distance of 2 km.”

But the Bamako Military Council denied that the drone had violated the airspace of Algeria. He said that the wreckage of the plane was found 9.5 km within its borders.

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

North Africa was one day a major mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali and separatists. Their relations have been strained since 2020 after the army took power in Bamako.

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

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