Algeria recalls envoy to France after ‘inadmissible interference’
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Algeria recalls envoy to France after ‘inadmissible interference’
Algeria’s government did not specify what prompted the recall of its ambassador, but it accused France of interfering in its internal affairs.
The moves come amid tension over a French decision to sharply reduce the number of visas it grants to citizens of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
The moves come amid tension over a French decision to sharply reduce the number of visas it grants to citizens of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
Algeria accused its former colonial ruler France of “genocide” and recalled its ambassador from Paris in anger over what it said were “inadmissible” comments attributed to French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Algerian government also banned French military planes from its airspace on Sunday.
France’s jets regularly fly over Algerian territory to reach the Sahel region of western Africa, where its soldiers are helping to battle armed groups as part of its Barkhane operation.
“This morning when we filed flight plans for two planes, we learned that the Algerians had stopped flights over their territory by French military planes,” an army spokesman, Colonel Pascal Ianni, told AFP news agency.
He said the decision “does not affect our operations or intelligence missions” carried out in the Sahel.
Algeria’s government and military were not immediately available for comment on the closure of airspace.
