The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) withdrew their respective ambassadors from Algeria in response to the downing of a Malian drone this week.

The members of the alliance are Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, as reported on Monday in a joint statement.

The alliance said that it “vigorously condemned’’ the downing of the drone, which was flying near the Algerian border town of Tin Zaouatine on the night of March 31-April 1.

It stated that the destruction of the aircraft prevented the neutralisation of a terrorist group that was planning terrorist acts against the AES.

Mali said in a separate statement that a preliminary investigation revealed that the drone was flying over Malian territory and was about 10 kilometres from the Algerian border when it was downed.

Algeria’s Ministry of Defence had said earlier in the week that the armed reconnaissance drone had crossed the border and travelled over Algerian airspace for more than two kilometres before being hit.

Mali’s Foreign Ministry said it asked the government in Algiers for evidence that the drone violated Algerian airspace, but “no satisfactory response has been made to the Malian request’’.

“For over 72 hours, accusing Algiers of sponsoring terrorism, no response.’’

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which are all ruled by military juntas, formed the joint defence alliance in September 2023.

The three countries are located in the Sahel region on the southern edge of the Sahara and have been plagued for years by Islamist terrorist groups.

The Islamist terrorist groups carried out bloody attacks on civilians and increasingly controlled territory.

The military has been in power in Niger since July, in Burkina Faso since 2022 and in Mali following a coup in 2021.

All three states have broken with the former colonial power, France, which previously provided military aid.

Niger and Burkina Faso have since turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner, with the security situation in all three countries threatening to deteriorate significantly.

(dpa/NAN)