In a tense regional context experienced by the Sahel and Sahara region in West Africa, and within the geography of the search for influence and position by many international players, the political crisis between Mali and Algeria has returned to the scene again.
And as two adjacent cavities sharing in a land limits of up to 1359 km, and many common challenges gathered, they were not expected to reach the stage of closing the atmosphere due to incidents that are marginalized with the logic of interests and common relationships, but the dispute came driven by backgrounds of tension and varied positions on many local and regional issues.
More than once, Algeria expressed its keenness on the security and stability of its southern neighbor Mali, in which many armed and separatist movements are active that threaten its unity.
In the next report, Al -Jazeera Net highlights the political crisis between Mali and Algeria, the backgrounds behind it, and its impact on the political, economic and security scene in the two countries.
What are the roots of the current crisis?
In 2015, Algeria succeeded in reaching the peace and reconciliation agreement between the financial government and the leaders of the Azwadiyah movements, which put an end to the war in the financial north, especially in the cities of Kidal, Ghao and Tambuktu.
After the coup of 2021 and the army continued the reins of government, Mali has always adopted a new politics aimed at searching for sovereignty by moving away from traditional partners and heading towards new players in the African scene.
In the year 2023, a wave of confrontations broke out in the financial north between the regular army supported by the Vagner forces on the one hand, and the Azwadiyah movements and some armed organizations on the other hand.
As an official sponsor of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, the Algerian government hosted the leaders of the factions signed with the reconciliation with the Bamako government, and also received some political and religious leaders such as the Imam and the preacher Mahmoud Deco.
As a result of these moves and endeavors, the Military Council in Mali expressed his anger at Algeria and accused them of carrying out hostile actions.
After unilateral accusations issued by Bamako, the two countries summoned their ambassadors to consult in December 2023.
However, the Algerian diplomatic machine moved its time and worked to contain the crisis, as the Minister of Kharga, Ahmed Ataf, issued a statement stating that his country’s government declares its firm adherence to the sovereignty of the Republic of Mali and its territorial integrity.
In January 2024, the ruling military council in Mali announced its exit from the peace and reconciliation agreement signed in 2015 between the Azawad movements and the financial government, which Algeria was sponsoring the terms of its outputs.
The spokesman for the Military Council at the time, Colonel Abdullah Mayga, said that the Algerian mediator was no longer able to fulfill the 2015 guarantees.
Algeria considers that the armed conflict in the south is a threat to its security, and that the Azawad community in Mali is closely related to its counterpart in Algeria.
After the Battle of Tanzawin, which took place in July 2024 and killed about 80 of the forces of the Figure and 40 financial army by the Tuareg fighters, Algeria became feeling that the armed forces in Mali and expanded their battles with the derivatives and approached its borders, so it entered the fighting stage, which prompted it to shoot down the driving plane at the end of last week.
After the plane was shot down, the Confederation of the Sahel countries announced the summoning of their ambassadors from Algeria, and the latter responded to it by closing the airspace in front of Bamako.
How will the crisis affect Algeria’s relations in the region?
Algeria is considered a president in the African coast, and historically has influence and influence in the region, and recently it has worked to enhance its presence through development and trade exchange.
In the past few years, the barter trade (a commodity for a commodity) has opened with Mali, Niger and Mauritania, and its products are present in the Sahel region markets.
When ICOS countries wanted to use the force in Niger to restore political legitimacy, Algeria opposed that option, and used its diplomatic weight to prevent it, for fear of increasing tension in the region and dragging it to more conflict.
At the regional level, Mali may not affect the coalition of the Sahel countries to escalate with Algeria, because the Algerian companies entered into strong economic partnerships last year with the Niger government and began working to contribute to the exploitation of gas and extraction of oil, and to build electricity and energy projects.
In an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, political analyst and professor of media at Medea University, Dr. Hakim Bougharra, said, “Algeria in the Sahel region has always been a major partner, and has contributed to the effective fighting of terrorism in the region, and in the past years it contributed a billion dollars in the Sahel region to build facilities and development facilities that would contribute to improving the life of Ska.”
Are there repercussions on the dispute between the two countries?
Based on the repeated differences between Mali and Algeria, which began after the military came to power in Bamako, the influence and historical presence that Algeria played in the Tuareg crisis in Mali may be seen.
A study prepared by the Odagist Center for Strategic Studies indicates that the most dangerous possible repercussions of this escalating tension between the two sides that it may push Algeria to reconsider its neutrality towards the chronic conflict in the financial north, especially in its relations with the Azawadia movements.
The study says that if Algeria decides to use the influence paper and non -neutrality, the government in Mali will find itself in front of a very complex situation, may abort the military progress made by Bamako recently in the northern regions.
As for the Mali government, it was demonstrated through the numerous operations it carried out on the border with Mauritania and Algeria, it does not consider respecting the principle of non -risk to the transfer of the conflict through the borders from its priorities, as much as it is concerned with pursuing the militants.
What is the future of the relationship between the two countries?
Since the era of independence, the relationship between Algeria and Mali has been distinguished by interconnection and intertwining, and Algeria has remained economic support for Bamako governments.
The two countries were distinguished by special bilateral relations, which were contributed to the reinforcement of President Modipo Kita, who was socialist and shares the leaders of Algeria in many ideas and ideologies.
Medoybo Keita sought to end the tension between Morocco and Algeria by holding a special summit that brought together the two countries in 1968.
In 2015, Algeria succeeded in ending the conflict in the financial north, which left more than 130 people, and caused the displacement of the proceeds of one million people from the regions of Kidal and Tambuktu.
Observers rule out that Algeria and Mali will reach a stage of hostility, or even the final break of diplomatic relations by virtue of common interests.
Also, the remarkable speed formed by the use of Brocinafasu and Niger with the decision of the financial authorities may not exceed formalities required by the customs of countries that share confederation and security federations.
(Tagstotranslate) News (T) Africa (T) Mali