Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso recall Ambassadors over Algerian Drone strike

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have jointly announced the recall of their ambassadors from Algeria following an incident involving the downing of a Malian drone.

The three military-led nations issued a statement on Sunday confirming the diplomatic decision, accusing Algerian forces of deliberately targeting and destroying the drone over Malian territory in late March.

Algerian authorities admitted on April 1 that they had shot down an armed reconnaissance drone that allegedly entered their airspace.

However, they did not provide further clarification or details about the incident.

In a separate statement, Mali’s foreign ministry said its investigation had confirmed “with absolute certainty” that the drone was taken down by Algeria in what it described as “a hostile premeditated attack by the Algerian regime.”

The drone debris was reportedly found about 9.5 kilometres (six miles) south of the Algerian border, and Mali claimed the aircraft was destroyed using either “a ground-to-air or air-to-air missile.”

Mali went on to label the incident as “an unprecedented act of aggression,” and condemned it as “a hostile, unfriendly and condescending action by the Algerian authorities.”

As of Sunday, the Algerian government had not issued any response concerning the ambassadors’ withdrawal or the accusations made by the three West African nations.