Lilongwe [Malawi], April 7: Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced on April 6 that they had withdrawn their ambassadors from Algeria, accusing Algerian forces of shooting down a Malian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Mali , Niger and Burkina Faso, all run by the military, announced the move in a joint statement after Mali accused Algeria of shooting down one of its drones near the border between the two countries on the night of March 31 and the early morning of April 1, according to AFP.
The countries stressed in a joint statement that they strongly condemned "the irresponsible actions of the Algerian authorities".
There is currently no information about Algeria's reaction to the withdrawal of ambassadors from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Earlier, the Algerian Defense Ministry announced on April 1 that the military had shot down an "armed surveillance drone" that violated the North African country's airspace near Tinzaouaten, a community on the border with Mali, but did not provide further details.
At the time, the Malian military said one of its UAVs had crashed while on a routine surveillance mission.
In a recent statement, Mali's Foreign Ministry stressed that authorities had concluded with "absolute certainty" that the UAV was shot down in "a deliberate hostile act by the Algerian regime."
Also according to a statement from the Malian Foreign Ministry, the UAV's wreckage was found 9.5 km south of the Algerian border and the UAV was shot down with "surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles".
Calling it an "unprecedented act of aggression", Mali's Foreign Ministry "strongly condemns the hostile and unfriendly actions of the Algerian authorities".
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
