After Morocco, Algeria closes its airspace to Mali

Algeria has decided to further harden its stance towards Mali by closing its airspace to all aircraft and aerial vehicles coming from or heading to this neighboring country. This announcement was made by the Algerian Ministry of National Defense on Monday, April 7, 2025, under the instructions of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Officially, Algeria justifies this measure by the “repeated violation” of its airspace by Malian aircraft, particularly drones. A decision that marks a new phase in the diplomatic escalation between the two countries.

This airspace closure follows a series of tense events, including the recall of the Algerian ambassador to Bamako and the exchange of harsh accusations between the governments of the two countries. Algeria categorically rejected the accusations made by Mali, calling them “false allegations” aimed at diverting attention from Mali’s internal crisis. Algeria also revealed two previous incidents of unauthorized overflights of its territory, which occurred on August 27 and December 29, 2024, involving Malian drones.

Bamako’s reaction was swift. In a statement, the Malian government denounced Algeria’s behavior, accusing it of supporting “international terrorism,” and announced the immediate closure of its airspace to all Algerian civilian and military aircraft. This symmetrical response reflects the rapid deterioration of bilateral relations between the two states, which are now escalating their hostile actions in a logic of direct confrontation.

This diplomatic standoff takes place in an already tense regional context, marked by the formation of the Sahel States Alliance (AES) between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The latter two countries, in solidarity with Bamako, have also recalled their ambassadors accredited to Algiers. It remains to be seen whether they will follow Mali’s example and close their airspace to Algeria as well, which could severely disrupt Air Algérie’s flights to West Africa.

This crisis is reminiscent of the one Algeria has been facing with Morocco since 2021, with the unilateral closure of Algerian airspace to Moroccan aircraft. The increasing frequency of such closures reflects a growing trend towards diplomatic isolation in the region. It could further compromise the stability and cooperative efforts between the countries of the Maghreb and the Sahel.