Algeria severs ties with UAE

Algeria has severed its diplomatic ties with the UAE over what it described as provocative and hostile actions despite repeated warnings.

The country’s foreign ministry announced the decision to cut ties with Abu Dhabi on Thursday in a statement. It comes after years of brewing diplomatic row over a range of issues.

Al Jazeera, quoting Ennahar TV, an Algerian news channel, reported that Algeria plans to close its airspace to all UAE-registered civilian and military aircraft starting Friday. But it will allow UAE commercial flights to and from Algiers to use its airspace until the end of 2026, when the current contract expires.

The ministry also said it had summoned the UAE ambassador to inform them of the decision and give 48 hours to comply.

Algeria stated that it was opting to sever ties with the UAE because it had “exhausted all means of preserving bilateral relations.”

However, the UAE, in response to this, said it hoped Algeria’s decision to cut diplomatic ties would be “temporary.”

“In light of the decision by the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria to sever relations with the United Arab Emirates, the UAE reaffirms the importance it attaches to its relations with all countries and its commitment to developing and strengthening them to serve shared interests and promote understanding, cooperation and prosperity,” the foreign ministry said on X.

A reason for the strained relations between both countries has been their differing stance on regional issues, particularly on the normalisation of relations with Israel. The UAE normalised relations with Israel in 2020 after President Donald Trump successfully brokered a deal between both countries.

The deal took Palestinian leaders by surprise and led to the recall of the Palestinian ambassador to the UAE. At the time, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas referred to the deal as amounting to “treason.”

Last year, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared that the country will not normalise relations with Israel before the establishment of a Palestinian state.

He made clear that Algeria’s “priority is the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Tension over Sahel, Morocco

Algeria is also displeased with the emirate’s growing influence in the Sahel, where its relations with states that are its southern neighbours have become increasingly strained.

The diplomatic rift between Algeria and Mali, and subsequently, Niger and Burkina Faso, worsened after juntas took over the government.

Insecurity in the Sahel has been at the heart of the tensions between the parties. In 2024, Mali ended the Algiers Accord, introduced as a framework for peace and reconciliation between the Malian government and Tuareg armed groups in the north.

The move strained relations between Bamako and Algiers.

Mali accused Algeria of interference in its internal affairs, while Algeria raised concerns about the growing instability along their shared border.

The rift between the two countries grew after a Malian drone destroyed Algerian-owned trucks near the Mali border in March, and then two weeks later, Algeria shot down a Malian armed drone over Tin Zaoutine, a sensitive frontier zone.

Both countries insisted that the armed drone was in their airspace. Angered by Algeria’s action, Mali withdrew from the Comité d’Etat Major Opérationnel Conjoint (CEMOC), a regional counterterrorism initiative headquartered in Algeria. The other two AES states followed suit by recalling their ambassadors from Algiers.

A few days later, Algeria and Mali both closed their airspace to each other’s aircraft.

While Algeria’s rift with the AES states was intensifying, the UAE was expanding its influence in the central Sahel region. Dubai has been pursuing deeper engagement with the three states.

Algiers also accused the country of meddling in its internal affairs and causing destabilisation.

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune has repeatedly referred to the UAE as a “micro-state” or “statelet” seeking to worsen tension in the region.

During a televised interview in July, he said the UAE has had a “very negative impact, and that wherever they set foot, blood flows.”

“We want them to stay away, so that blood does not flow in our country,” he declared.

The countries also stand on opposing sides on Western Sahara, a disputed territory in North Africa.

While the UAE supports Morocco’s claim to the territory, Algeria supports the separatist Polisario Front, which is demanding ​an independent State.