Mali’s prime minister, Abdoulaye Maïga, has accused Algeria of committing “international terrorism” after Algerian forces shot down a Malian military drone near their shared border. Speaking at the United Nations on Friday, Maïga said Mali and its allies, Burkina Faso and Niger, will stand united against what he described as external aggression and ongoing insurgent threats.
Algeria confirmed it downed the drone, saying it had entered Algerian airspace near Tin Zaouatine, a town on the frontier that has long been a stronghold for Tuareg separatists. Mali, however, insists the drone was operating within its own territory and has filed a case against Algeria at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing its neighbor of “premeditated destruction” and “blatant aggression.”
“In the face of attacks and adversity, we will not stand by. For every bullet fired at us, we will respond,” Maïga told the UN assembly, defending the military alliance known as the AES Confederation formed last year by Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso after they quit ECOWAS. The AES states, all led by military juntas after recent coups, have deepened their cooperation on defense and security, jointly battling jihadist insurgencies linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Earlier this month, they also withdrew from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, calling the ICC a tool of “selective justice.”
Algeria once played a key role mediating Mali’s conflict with Tuareg rebels but relations soured after Mali’s 2020 and 2021 coups. Mali has since expelled French forces, turned to Russia for security assistance, and aligned closely with its AES neighbors. The drone incident has further strained ties. Mali’s government argues that Algeria’s actions were aimed at disrupting counterinsurgency operations in the Kidal region, where armed groups remain active. Algeria, with one of Africa’s most powerful militaries, has not offered public evidence that the drone crossed into its territory. With extremist violence still surging in the Sahel and regional alliances shifting, the confrontation between Mali and Algeria risks opening a new front of instability in an already fragile region.
