On Friday, Algiers recalled its ambassador stationed in Bamako for consultations. In the process, by reciprocity, it was Bamako which recalled to the country its ambassador stationed in the Algerian capital. In recent days, a diplomatic skirmish took place through the summons of these two ambassadors. Starting point of the quarrel: the invitations, to Algiers, of groups signatory to the 2015 peace agreement.
2 mins
For months, we had known about their frosty, even frozen, relationships. It is now an open crisis. THE Mali did not appreciate that theAlgeria consults, at the beginning of the week, the rebel groups of the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP) on the follow-up to be given to the 2015 peace agreement, while the war has resumed in the North. Algiers had also invited, a few days earlier, the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA), a signatory group allied with the Malian transitional authorities. But nothing to reassure Bamako.
Read alsoMali: Algerian mediator consults armed groups signatories to the peace agreement
Especially since, in the process, it was the Malian imam Mahmoud Dicko who was received by the Algerian President Tebboune in person. Imam Dicko, former president of the High Islamic Council of Mali, has an important network in the North. It is also “ known for his hostility to the government », According to the Malian press release which designates him without mentioning him by name.
Recall of ambassadors
Of the ” actions » considered as “ unfriendly ” and which earned the Algerian ambassador in Bamako a summons on Wednesday by the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, during which he was reproached “ interference in the internal affairs of Mali », According to the official press release from the ministry. The next day, it was the Malian ambassador in Algiers who was summoned by the head of Algerian diplomacy. The latter underlined, according to the press release issued at the end of their interview, “ Algeria’s intransgressible attachment to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and national unity of Mali », and justified these consultations by Algeria’s own role as president of the Monitoring Committee of the 2015 peace agreement.
The two ambassadors were finally recalled this Friday to their countries, “ for consultation ”, according to the established formula.
In a funny coincidence of the calendar, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop is currently participating in a long-planned meeting in Morocco. A ministerial meeting which concerns the access of Sahelian countries to the Atlantic Ocean. As a reminder, Morocco and Algeria are neighbors, but in conflict and the two countries have no longer had diplomatic relations since the summer of 2021. “ On the sidelines of this meeting », concludes the press release from the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop will lead “ high-level political consultations with the Moroccan authorities “.