Algeria shoots down drone near border with Mali as tensions simmer

Algeria said Tuesday it shot down a military drone near the country’s border with Mali in the first incident of its kind during growing tensions between the two countries governing a vast portion of the Sahara.

The country’s army said in a statement that the armed reconnaissance drone had entered Algerian airspace Monday near Tin Zaouatine, a border town and stronghold for Tuareg separatists opposed to Mali’s government. Mali’s army acknowledged that one of its drones had crashed in the area, but did not confirm whether it was shot down by Algeria.

Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert at the Morocco-based Policy Centre for the New South, said the shooting down of the drone – rather than issuing a warning – reflected simmering frustrations.

It “confirms the serious tensions between the countries and unwillingness and zero tolerance by Algeria to allow the use of its airspace and territory by Malian forces,” he said.

The incident comes as tensions rise between Algeria and its southern neighbours, including Mali.