Algeria announces the return of its ambassador to Mali, after 15 months of diplomatic tension

The Malian government had earlier announced the return of its ambassador to Algiers, and the two countries had reported the reciprocal reopening of their airspaces.

Algeria and Mali announced on Friday the reciprocal reopening of their airspace and the return of their respective ambassadors, measures that could signal a thaw in relations between the two neighbors after 15 months of diplomatic tension. Their relations had deteriorated sharply in recent years, particularly since the junta seized power in Mali, accusing Algiers of interfering in its internal affairs.

Bamako has decided to "reopen its national airspace to all civilian and military aircraft operating flights to and from" Algeria, the government announced in a statement. It also announced the return to Algiers of its ambassador, who had been recalled in April 2025, without specifying a date.

A few hours earlier, Algiers had announced the same measure concerning its neighbor's airspace. This decision, effective as of Friday, "includes all flights to and from Mali via various international destinations," the Algerian Ministry of Defense stated in a press release. Like Mali, Algeria also announced on Friday the return of its ambassador to Mali.

The drone of discord

Kamel Retieb, who was stationed in Bamako before Algiers recalled him following a dispute triggered by the destruction of a Malian drone by the Algerians in April 2025, will resume his duties as ambassador, the Foreign Ministry said.

Diplomatic tensions had been rising between Mali and its large northern neighbor since the Malian junta seized power following two coups in 2020 and 2021. Algiers, which had played a central role in negotiating the 2015 peace agreement between Bamako and armed groups in the north, saw its influence challenged by the new authorities, who accuse Algeria of interfering in their internal affairs. Since 2012, Mali has been grappling with a security crisis fueled by violence perpetrated by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as by community-based criminal gangs.

The dispute between the two countries escalated in the spring of 2025 after the downing of a Malian military drone near their shared border. Algeria claimed the drone had violated its airspace, while Mali maintained it was within its territory. The incident triggered a diplomatic crisis, including the recall of ambassadors, the reciprocal closure of airspace, and an exchange of accusations between Algiers and the countries of the Sahel Alliance (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger).

Tensions were further fueled by Mali's announcement in April of its support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, a position opposed to that of Algeria, which backs the Polisario Front independence movement. Despite these disputes, the two countries remain linked by a long border and shared security concerns, particularly the fight against jihadist groups active in the Sahel.