DAKAR, Senegal: A military alliance between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew their respective ambassadors from Algeria in response to the downing of a Malian drone this 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鈥檚 downing and condemned it as an 鈥渋rresponsible act鈥� that violated international law.
The act was 鈥渃ontrary to historical relations and fraternal relations between the peoples of the AES Confederation and the Algerian people,鈥� the group said.
The Malian Foreign Ministry in a statement on social media Sunday denied claims by the Algerian government that the drone had violated Algeria鈥檚 airspace by over 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) and instead claimed that 鈥渢his action proves, if proof were needed, that the Algerian regime sponsors international terrorism.鈥�
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 filed a complaint with 鈥渋nternational bodies鈥� about the incident.

The development comes as tensions are on the rise between Algeria and its southern neighbors, including Mali.
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鈥檚 ability to conduct a thorough investigation because the crash 鈥渢ook place in an area it doesn鈥檛 control, and what remains of the drone has been recovered by groups opposed to the government.鈥�
Algeria once served as a key mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali鈥檚 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鈥檚 key institutions.
Algeria has denounced the direction that Mali鈥檚 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鈥檚 use of Russian mercenaries and armed drones near Tin Zaouatine, a border town in the north were the drone was found.
Algeria has one of Africa鈥檚 largest militaries and has long considered itself a regional power but military leaders in neighboring Mali and Niger have distanced themselves as they鈥檝e championed autonomy and sought new alliances, including with Russia.